4.2 Politically astute leadership
As internal and external interests and politics continue to diversify and divide opinion, Hartley et al. (2015) present a framework of political astuteness skills that will benefit leaders and managers across all sectors. You’ll find a version of this framework reproduced in Activity 3.
Professor Hartley (2023) explains that political astuteness is about ‘working with contest and conflict to achieve organisational and social goals’ and describes a variety of work-based situations in which leaders might use these skills, ranging from ‘dealing with people within their organisation, including factions and disagreeing tribes’ to ‘liaising with partners and in strategic alliances.’
Activity 3 Are you politically astute?
View the dimensions of the framework (Hartley, 2023) below and consider whether you already use these skills or not. Are they relevant to your context?
Y = Yes, N = No and NR = Not Relevant
| Dimension | Description | Y/N/NR |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic direction and scanning |
|
|
| Building alignment and alliances |
|
|
| Reading people and situations |
|
|
| Interpersonal skills |
|
|
| Personal skills |
|
Comment
Political astuteness is important both internally (refer to Week 6 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] to revisit internal politics) and externally. This framework presents a useful checklist of skills, attitudes and behaviours, particularly for a leader who is still developing their strategic thinking.
If you feel this is an area for personal development, Professor Hartley (2023) shares the results of a survey of 1,500 people, which found that the most frequent learning opportunities for developing political astuteness skills come from failure or mismanagement, i.e.
88% learnt from their mistakes
86% gained on the job experience
85% learnt from handling a crisis
77% followed the good example of a senior manager
70% learnt through observing bad behaviour from a senior manager.
Taking time to reflect on previous ‘political’ conversations you’ve participated in or observed is another good use of your leadership journal. Think about what went well or went wrong and reflect on what could have been done differently.