IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 46
People often try to avoid
office politics-though
recent articles argue that's
a mistake. Can office politics
be used for good?
SILVERMAN Definitely. As with any social relationship, being open, sharing, and
collaborative can only help a cause, whether that's a firm's cause or a personal cause.
And there's nothing wrong with that, people should be concerned with their own
growth, position, and accomplishments in a firm, as long as it is not to the detriment
of their colleagues. Knowing more, sharing more, understanding the broader
scenario is all beneficial. Staying out of the loop and not engaging is not good for
you personally, or socially. Our work is not just about our work, it is about relation-
ships, not only with our clients and the external world, but internal as well.
ENIGL I think they can be an impetus for good because they can give us tools we need
in our careers. One of the biggest problems in design is that designers come out of
school knowing how to design but not necessarily how to manage people. Say you're
promoted after a few years and all of sudden people who were once your peers are
now your subordinates-if people aren't mentally prepared for that, it can lead to
problems, to "office politics." I see that over and over. But if you give people the
tools-teach them how to talk to people, how to build a team, how to communicate,
how to give someone a safe space to say if they're feeling bad-that can really help.
MARQUARDT I think it's a part of the human condition. When I work with students,
I tell them one of the most important words related to branded environments is
manipulation. Is that a bad word? In our culture it might be thought of that way.
But I think it comes down to transparency. You can think about the workplace in
a similar way, it all comes down to how transparent you're being in the process
and if outcomes are ethical and beneficial for all involved.
Transparency is a big
issue right now, especially
for millennials.
P
t
46
ENIGL It's huge. Millennials are going to be the single largest workforce in the history
of the world, and transparency is hugely important to them. I've interviewed four or
five thousand millennials all over the world. This generation clearly knows what
they want and they aren't afraid to articulate it. They will tell you in an interview
exactly what they want. They want to work on sustainable projects, they want to
have meaningful impact, they want their voice to be heard at the table, they want
to be on a team, they don't want to engage in politics, they want a clear path and to
know exactly how their career is going to go at your company-and they'll tell you:
"If I don't have an opportunity to learn and grow I won't stay at your firm." One of the
reasons young people are moving from bigger firms is that they feel like they're a
number. That their growth will be stunted and they won't have anyone to talk to.
They want to scale down and move to an office that's more personal, so if they have
a problem they know they can go talk to a manager, a principal, or HR.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016
Iida Perspective - Spring/summer 2016
Contents
From IIDA
Behind the Issue
Contributors
IIDA Industry Roundtable
Designer Dialogue: The B Corp Wave
Can Design Rock the Vote?
The Politics of Sport
Roundtable: Office Politics
Inspiration
Colophon
Viewpoints
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Iida Perspective - Spring/summer 2016
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Contents
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 1
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 2
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 3
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 4
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - From IIDA
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Behind the Issue
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 7
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Contributors
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 9
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - IIDA Industry Roundtable
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 11
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 12
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 13
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 14
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 15
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 16
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 17
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 18
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 19
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Designer Dialogue: The B Corp Wave
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 21
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 22
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 23
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 24
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 25
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Can Design Rock the Vote?
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 27
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 28
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 29
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 30
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 31
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 32
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 33
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - The Politics of Sport
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 35
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 36
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 37
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 38
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 39
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 40
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 41
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 42
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 43
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Roundtable: Office Politics
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 45
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 46
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 47
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 48
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 49
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 50
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 51
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Inspiration
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 53
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - 54
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Colophon
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Viewpoints
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Cover3
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2016 - Cover4
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