Office politics aren't always pretty, but they can't be avoided

Don't like to play office politics? Would you rather just ignore all that smarmy stuff and just do your job?

Like most of us, "playing" politics probably leaves you cold. However, ignoring politics is dangerous. Perhaps it's the word "politics" that makes it seem so distasteful. Unfortunately, corporate politics is something that can't be avoided.

Once you are part of an organization, you are part of the interpersonal human mix; the corporate family. And just like your genetic family, the dynamics can range from supportive and caring, to a dysfunctional human drama. In our personal families, we develop a reputation based on who we are: loud, funny, private, good-hearted. And, so it is with our corporate family. You play a role in your corporate politics whether you try to or not.

Unlike family relationships, you don't have unconditional love to act as the glue that binds. Where you might give Aunt Shirley a dismissive shrug when she's scatterbrained and forgets to do what she promised, you might feel quite different if your teammate displayed similar characteristics.

Here are some do's and dont's for navigating the political realities of corporate life:

Don't be overly concerned about how you look to those above you.

If you try to impress those above you, while stepping on those below you, it usually catches up with you. People don't like being used and abused and eventually you will be standing all alone, without a team to support you.

Do: If you treat all your co-workers with respect and value their contributions, you will build a reputation for building a strong team and getting results through others. This almost always comes to the attention of those above you. It's better to be seen as someone who brings out the best in others, than someone who tries to be the star.

Don't care more about your next job than the job you have. Being ambitious is not a crime but looking too ambitious can appear criminal, especially if "blind ambition" is used to describe you. Ambitious people make others leery because they appear to make decisions based on their own self-interest, instead of the interest of the company or the team. They tend to upstage their teammates and they also focus more on the high-visibility projects and tend to dump their routine work on their co-workers.

Do: Focus on getting a reputation for great execution in your current job. As you master those tasks, and take on bigger responsibilities, seek resources and support from your coworkers. Take responsibility when the team stumbles and share the credit when the team has a win. Those are the keys for getting a promotion.

Don't pay more attention to the technical work than to the people around you. You may want to post a "Do Not Disturb" sign at the entrance to your cubicle, but dream on. You may love your technical work and wish you could just work on your computer all day, but few people's careers will survive that tactic.

If you treat your co-workers or internal customers like annoying gnats, or abuse them with rude treatment, the most brilliant technical skills won't save you in the long run.

Do: Recognize that the only way to keep doing the work you love is to give the people around you what they need. Your technical work won't get the recognition it deserves if you alienate the people who use it.

Set up meetings with customers, users and anyone else who gives you data and uses your technical output. Discuss mutual expectations and take the time to explain what you are doing and why. Think of yourself as a teacher. It will make your technical work shine.

Don't act superior to your co-workers in competence and intelligence. If you're smart, people around you will notice. Speaking down to them and using 25-dollar words when a 10 cent one will do, makes you look pompous and will invite snickers behind your back. You won't be invited to join key teams if your personal manner turns everyone off.

Do: Truly bright people don't need to prove it to anyone. In fact, if they can also be collaborative and listen to other's ideas, they are regarded as even smarter.

Some of the most gifted people I have ever met were able to break things down into simple language and bring people together around an idea.

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