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However, political world can step over line by power-hungry or untrained corporate politician. The one way to judge such an action is based on your own personal lines. If indeed a situation seems to purposefully step over into your personal life, then you must make a judgment call. Such situations can occur when your associates are able to create conflict in your personal life.
The one most important lesson to learn is that one should never provide access to one's personal world within corporate world. Indeed, for congenial interaction, it is accepted that you provide some basic information about your personal life. However, keep it simple and do not provide any information that could create issues with others. It is important to maintain a distance between realities in your "personal world" and realities of your "corporate world".
--- How many of me are there? ---
Indeed, this entire scenario can complicate one's life with idea of maintaining two different "selves". However, to balance your world with your corporate world successfully, it is best to view your corporate world as a "sub-world" of your entire life. In all cases, all of human interaction is lumped under one world, with a multitude of sub-worlds and environments. You have your corporate world, your "buddy" world, your hobby world, and you family world, as just examples. Indeed, you experience different rules and expectations (i.e., politics) in each. Therefore, by learning rules of corporate sub-world, just as you have your other worlds, you can easily integrate and manage politics to achieve greater success in your career as well as your life.
--- What's next? ---
In corporate world, it is not a question of ethics or integrity; it is a question of results. Properly trained managers are able to use politics as an effective tool to obtain results that fall in line with corporation's vision and mission. You, as employee, must learn how to separate your personal world from corporate world so that you can effectively understand purpose and direction of corporation without falling prey to your own personal ideals.
Each corporation is as much a living, breathing, and consuming being as is a human. Just as your cells fight for survival of human, corporate politics is not about individual, it is about survival of corporation. By understanding where line exists that separates your two worlds and adapting to idea that political motivation is about results, then indeed, your interaction within this strange, new world will be more effective and successful.
Edward B. Toupin is an author, life-strategy coach, counselor, and technical writer living in Las Vegas, NV. Among other things, he authors books and articles on topics ranging from career success through life organization and fulfillment. For more information, e-mail Edward at etoupin@toupin.com or visit his sites at http://www.toupin.com or http://www.make-life-great.com.