Micro-Politics
Here, micro-politics is a description for where, how, when and why teams (and people) work on their interests in relation to other teams (and people). An organisation is always an arena too, in which influence is organised. In this arena, all teams play along, whether they like it or not, whether they are conscious of this or not.
The rules, norms and values, which apply to playing in this arena, fundamentally determine how effectively and efficiently the interest representation for the shared goals is carried out . Whether one operates with authority (=factual arguments), leadership (=offers of trust) or power (=control over future events), has wide-reaching consequences, also for other guiding processes.
Whether the chosen form of micro-politics actually serves the team’s own goals and takes into account all the goals of the organisation, whether it processes sufficient complexity and reflects on the consequences of its procedure in future, will decide, to a considerable degree, if the team (or the person) harms or benefits itself or others. Therefore, for the consultancy of teams, a reflection on the micro-political situation (arena, actors, conflict of interest, coalitions, winner/loser dynamics etc.) is indispensable.