Organizations of all types (charitable, corporate, government, social)  all are subject to some form of internal politics.  Some more skeptical people simply refer to this as game playing.

Often called office politics, to put a boundary on the play space,  these are strategies that people play to gain advantage, personally or for a cause they support.

The term often has a negative connotation, in that it refers to strategies people use to seek advantage at the expense of others or the greater good.

What to do?

The first, and most important, step in sucessfully navigating organizational politics is identification.  That is recognizing that a strategy is in play.

While not always possible, determining the goal of the strategy and forcasting how it will be played out can be very helpfu to you when deciding how to react.l

The key though, is understanding a political strategy is in play, even if the way it is playing out is not really clear.  From this point the question is will it benefit or harm me?

The next step is to determine your reaction – that is either play or avoid.  If you decide to play be sure you can be in control, limit your risk, and won’t be played yourself.  Otherwise select an avoidance approach.

Well played strategies can cause you harm, this is true if you are the target or even just an innocent bystander.  This is where recognizing somethings in play and staying away can be beneficial.

If you choose to play, obviously you should have a personal goal in mind (if there is no benefit to you, why play) and remember this is the riskier approach.