Working the Shadow Side

Offers managers, consultants, and employees alike a practicalstarter kit that reveals how to identify, manage, and gain valuefrom the below-the surface activities in an organization. Drawingon his worldwide consulting, teaching, and research experience,Gerard Egan shows how to create opportunity and competitiveadvantage by learning how to manage shadow-side realities. Heidentifies five interactive categories of behavior that affect bothproductivity and quality of work life in today'sorganizations--covert culture, the idiosyncrasies of individuals,the interactions of the organization's social system, institutionalpolitics, and the hidden organization--and details specific skillsand strategies for mining economic value from each one. Harness the covert aspects of your organization -- covert culture,individual idiosyncrasies, institutional politics -- forcompetitive advantage. World-renown consultant, teacher andresearcher Gerard Egan identifies five shadow side work behaviors,and details specifics for mining the economic value of each.

Preface xi The Author xv What Goes on in the Shadows 1 What is the Shadow Side? The Covert, Undiscussed, and Undiscussable Things That Drive Your Organization 3 2 Getting Attuned to the Shadows 17 Mining Value from the Shadow Side 3 Uncovering the Economics of the Shadow side 43 4 Becoming an Effective Behind-the-Scenes Manager 55 Revealing Your Organization’s Hidden Culture 5 “The Way We Do Things Here”: A Primer of Beliefs, Values, and Norms 75 6 Making the Culture Serve Your Business 96 Managing the Shadow Side of People 7 Personal Styles: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Ambiguous 127 8 working with Personal Styles and Promoting Productive Relationships 138 9 In-Groups, Out-Groups, Cliques, and Clubs: Finding Value in Your Organization’s Social Realities 164 Positive Political Skills at Work 10 Turf, Power, Agendas, and Resources: The Anatomy of Organizational Politics 195 11 How to Practice Positive Politics 212 Bringing It all Together 12 Making the Hidden Organization Serve the Business 233 13 Epilogue: Making Chaos Your Friend 256 References 267 Index 271