The secret handshake : mastering the politics of the business inner circle

213 Pages·2001·1.57 MB·English

by  Reardon

Praise for
The Secret Handshake
“The Secret Handshake, Kathleen Reardon’s new and most important
book, takes ‘organizational politics’ out of the closet and illuminates the
darkness surrounding that topic. It is an extremely original, brave, and
useful book about the social etiquette of modern bureaucracies—i.e.,
how to get things done through people. And it’s a topic that, if discussed
at all, is usually spoken about in dark and uninformed ways. Reardon
not only clarifies the topic but shows convincingly that unless one has an
enlightened view of what organizational politics is all about, one is
doomed to failure.”
—Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business
Administration at USC and author of Managing the Dream
“The Secret Handshake delivers powerful insights into the real calculus of
corporate decision-making. It not only sheds light on the poorly
understood pinnacles of power, but provides a primer for those who
would play the game.”
—Bill Davidson, chairman, MESA Research,
and author of The Art of Market Leadership
“If you are warming to the idea of focusing on your political side, then
you should grab your own copy of The Secret Handshake. Even if you
don’t yearn for the highest ranks … this book can’t help but smooth your
everyday path through the organizational life.”
—Executive Bookshelf
“Without losing academic rigor, the author brings a practical focus to the
subject and … does not require the reader to be superhuman or to
change personality beyond recognition. Professor Reardon successfully
demystifies a subject that too often is used to create barriers to
individual personal progress. It is likely that every reader will gain
significant insight from the book, probably both at a personal level and
in relation to the behavior of colleagues and organizations.”
—Mary Walsh, PricewaterhouseCoopers
“We are all political animals. But politics exercised in a ham-handed
manner can be unbelievably destructive to any organization, large or
small. Here, Reardon shows us how we can apply politics, in the best
sense of the word, toward personal, professional, and organizational
success.”
—José I. Lozano, publisher and CEO, La Opinión
“My first reaction was ‘I wish I had read this when I was twenty-one!’
But I quickly realized that it is just as useful to me today. This is an
important book for anyone who hopes to maximize their personal
power.”
—Pete Hart, former CEO, MasterCard International

The Secret Handshake was originally published in hardcover
by Currency in January 2001
A CURRENCY BOOK
PUBLISHED BY DOUBLEDAY
a division of Random House, Inc.
1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036
CURRENCY and DOUBLEDAY are
trademarks of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.
Please visit our website at www.currencybooks.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition
of this book as follows: Reardon, Kathleen Kelley.
The secret handshake: mastering the politics of the business inner
circle / Kathleen Kelley Reardon.—1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Office politics. 2. Interpersonal relations. 3. Negotiation in business. I. Title.
HF5386.5 .R4 2000
658.4′09—dc21
00-043216
eISBN: 978-0-38550519-2
Copyright © 2000 by Kathleen Kelley Reardon, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved
v3.1
with love
to my children:
Devin—endearing comic, pianist, and
baseball base-stealing maverick
Ryan—always caring, imaginative, slugger
with enduring heart
Shannon—deeply affectionate, charming,
dancer extraordinaire
and Chris—my husband,
my best critic, my best friend
Acknowledgments
This book was a journey down an avenue not previously traveled at
length. Politics is a critical aspect of business, yet it is an
understudied one. So when Roger Scholl at Currency/Doubleday decided
it was ground worth breaking, I couldn’t have been more delighted.
Roger’s encouragement, energy, keen insight, and critical thinking were
central to making this book possible. From the time we first talked,
Roger exuded a confidence in this project and in me as a writer that
made the process more enjoyable than it’s supposed to be.
My agent, Peter Ginsberg, deserves my heartfelt gratitude for his
constant interest in my research and its implications for practice. He was
the first to see the potential in the topic of politics in the workplace.
Over the years that I’ve worked with Peter, he has been both an agent
and a mentor. He is not easily pleased nor happily diverted from the
path he sees as having the most promise. He draws the best from his
authors by hearing them out, suggesting, and encouraging. What more
can an author ask of an agent? He is the best.
My children, Devin, Ryan, and Shannon, have watched Mom at the
computer at all hours of the day and night. Yet we’ve spent many
wonderful hours together for baseball, Cub Scouts, Brownies, dance,
sports, and travel. Shannon now writes books of her own, telling friends
that she is going to be a writer. Devin became my photocopying assistant
and enjoyed it for nearly a hundred pages. His loving “How’s it going,
Mom?” often led to welcome writing breaks and discussions of the latest
in a twelve-year-old’s life. Ryan kept me company, playing Star Wars
around, over, and under my feet, knowing almost instinctively when it
was time to tone down the sound of fast-approaching enemy ships.
My husband, Chris, is a talented writer himself and has provided me
with superb advice. He ignores reams of paper scattered here and there
during intense writing periods and finds spare time away from his work
to take a look at a chapter that I know is not quite there yet. My brother,
Kevin, with whom I’ve coauthored articles on leadership, has talked with
me at length about workplace politics. My sister-in-law, Susan, my
nephew, Brian, and my niece, Meghan, have always been supportive of
my writing endeavors; Brian even turns my books around on bookstore
shelves so that the whole front cover is clearly visible. My mother-in-
law, Connie, and father-in-law, Earl, provide not only support but also
valuable insights. Jonathan, Kevin, Dennis, and Matt and my sisters-in-
law Karen, Joan, Helen, and Tamre take a long-distance interest in my
work and have shared political experiences of their own over the years. I
am fortunate to have such a wonderful family.
At the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business,
there are many people to thank. My years teaching in the Executive
MBA, International MBA (IBEAR), MBA, undergraduate, and executive
education programs have helped shape this book. My colleagues have
inspired my thinking on the subject of politics. Warren Bennis,
leadership guru, also continues to have a significant impact, as do the
people who surround him and who made important contributions to
Chapter 11 through speeches they gave at a conference honoring
Warren’s career. Alan Rowe, professor emeritus and expert in decision
theory, influenced my views about leadership and politics during our
work together.
My gratitude extends to many communication scholars for their
superb research and writing, from my days as an undergraduate (and
later a faculty member) at the University of Connecticut with Martin
Hunt’s encouragement, through M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the
University of Massachusetts—Amherst, where Vernon Cronen, Jane
Blankenship, Jennings Bryant, Fern Johnson, and Barnett Pearce
influenced my research, on through many International Communication
Association and National Communication Association presentations and
debates, where the ideas for this book were given form. Being a
communication scholar opens up so many fascinating avenues of study.
Politics is only one of them. After all, management itself is
communication. There is nothing soft about this subject: it is the hard
stuff of business and of life in general.
My friends have also given me so much support. Ann and Larry
Marinovich provided me with wonderful stories and insights over
dinners and on our walks through Palos Verdes. Susan Daigh has been
there for me with ideas and connections to interviewees. Thanks to Ellen
Nichols, my dear friend of many years, who offered both advice and
support. Gail Fairhurst, across the miles at the University of Cincinnati,
has influenced my work by the genius of her own. My good friend Marcy
Pine made excellent suggestions for interviews and took an abiding
interest in the development of this book. Thanks as well to my friends
Marianne Tegner, Nuala and Brian Egan, Tammy and Doug Scott, and
Dierdre and John Lenahan. These kinds of friendships make writing
enjoyable and determine its course in significant ways.
I want to thank my astute research assistant, Michael Sithole, whose
research acumen was invaluable in ferreting out information from the
most minuscule or unpromising of leads. I am grateful to those at
Currency/Doubleday, especially Stephanie Land, with whom it has been
a pleasure to work.
Special thanks to the senior executives, named, unnamed, and
disguised, who opened their doors to me and spent precious time sharing
experiences and political strategies. Their real-life political adventures
made this topic live for me. Keen observers of human behavior like Betty
Friedan, Mary Catherine Bateson, Edward Lawler, and Linda Fowler
shared their perceptions of politics and, in so doing, influenced my
approach and choice of subject matter.
Finally, I must mention my parents, from whom I learned much at the
dining room table. They never shuffled me off to my room when they
discussed the events of their workdays. That early exposure to politics
and strategy formulation proved invaluable in later years when I
encountered them along my own career path. This has made me a strong
believer in allowing older children to hear political stories not only after
they’ve occured but while they’re unfolding. These life lessons provide a
critical preparatory foundation for the later mastering of politics.
I have always been interested in relationships, especially at work.
Without the sage advice and enduring support of the people mentioned
here, I could not have written any book, let alone one that delves so
deeply into the private strategies of hundreds of successful people, access
to whom was often eased by a friend or a friend of a friend. Whether
they assisted in making these connections, shared with me their own
political successes and failures, or were just there to keep me on track,
their generous help made The Secret Handshake possible. I am deeply
grateful.