Navigating Organizational Politics: Becoming the Wise Owl

“Politics is individual or group behaviour that is informal, typically divisive, and not sanctioned formally.” — Henry Mintzberg

When most leaders hear the word politics, they recoil. It feels dirty, manipulative, and something to be avoided at all costs. Yet politics exists in every organization—whether we like it or not. Politics is simply the way groups of people make decisions about resources, power, and status. Ignore it, and you risk missing the real levers of influence that drive your workplace.

Simon Baddeley and Kim James developed a model of organizational politics that helps us see the different ways people engage with power. They mapped two dimensions:

• Political awareness: How tuned in are you to the informal group dynamics and decision-making processes?
• Intention: Are you acting for self-interest and manipulation, or for aligned group interest with integrity?

From this, four orientations emerge—brought to life through animals:

🦉 The Wise Owl (Politically Aware + Integrity-Driven)

The owl listens deeply, shares information openly, and looks for win-win solutions. They can communicate well. Owls understand power dynamics and use them to benefit the whole. Their empowering belief: It’s okay to be disliked when you’re doing the right thing. These are the leaders we need more of.

🦊 The Clever Fox (Politically Aware + Self-Serving)

The fox knows exactly how things get done—but uses this insight for personal gain. They manipulate behind closed doors, build alliances that serve themselves, and assume problems won’t catch up with them. Short-term, they often rise. Long-term, they erode trust and drain value.

🫏 The Stubborn Donkey (Politically Unaware + Self-Serving)

The donkey thinks they know how politics work—but they don’t. They prioritize their own feelings over the group’s needs, make transactional deals, and push against the grain. They lack humility and fail to build reciprocal coalitions.

🐑 The Innocent Sheep (Politically Unaware + Integrity-Driven)

The sheep believes the best ideas always win and that formal processes are all that matter. They ignore informal influence networks and hope others will “just be reasonable.” Their lack of political savvy often leaves them sidelined, even when their ideas are good.

Why This Matters for Leaders

Organizational politics isn’t about the org chart—it’s about how decisions really get made. Who has the power? Who do decision-makers trust? Who gets listened to?

As a leader, you need to recognize how each of these orientations show up in yourself and in others. Then you can coach, develop, or redirect accordingly. Here are four steps you can take:

1. Identify your dominant orientation. Are you more owl, fox, donkey, or sheep?
2. Identify your other orientations. What other archetypes do you slip into?
3. Spot the patterns in your team. Who plays which role? Who needs coaching?
4. Develop toward wisdom. Build awareness of power dynamics while acting with integrity.
5. Use politics for good. Influence doesn’t have to be manipulative—it can be principled and positive.

The Bottom Line

Politics in organizations is unavoidable. The choice is whether you engage blindly, selfishly, or wisely. Baddeley and James’ model gives us a mirror: are we using our political skills for short-term self-interest, or for long-term trust and collective success?

The call to leaders is clear: strive to be the wise owl.

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Adam Kreek is on a mission to positively impact organizational cultures and leaders who make things happen.

Kreek is an Executive Business Coach who lives in Victoria, BC, near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Seattle, Washington, USA, in the Pacific Northwest. He works with clients globally, often travelling to California in the San Francisco Bay Area, Atlanta, Georgia, Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist, a storied adventurer and a father.

He authored the bestselling business book, The Responsibility Ethic: 12 Strategies Exceptional People Use to Do the Work and Make Success Happen. 

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