The Martha and Spencer Love Professor of Business presented his latest scholarship on organizational politics at the annual conference.
Matt Valle, Martha and Spencer Love Professor of Business, presented his research on the moderating effect of political skill on the relationship between supervisor-subordinate relations and work-related outcomes on Nov. 13 at the Southern Management Association (SMA) Conference in Savannah, Ga.
It was the contention of this research that the political skill dimension of sincerity would have a demonstrable effect on supervisors’ appraisal ratings and decisions concerning promotability; more specifically, the study proposed that supervisors who found reason to believe that their subordinates were not genuine in their influence attempts (in other words, the supervisors perceived that subordinates lacked sincerity) were more likely to rate those individuals lower and recommend them less for promotion. Data from 203 supervisor-subordinate dyads of a state agency were used to test the study hypotheses. The results indicate that supervisor perceptions of subordinate promotability were attenuated by supervisor perceptions that the subordinates were not sincere in their influence attempts/political skill.
Research background
For the past 30 years, researchers have heavily mined the theoretical and empirical implications of a political perspective of organizational behavior. Individual political perceptions have been found to affect relevant personal and work-related outcomes, such as job satisfaction, stress and turnover. Additionally, the links between antecedents and perceptions, and perceptions and outcomes, have been further refined with the addition of meaningful moderating/mediating variables. The logical extension of this work on politics perceptions is that perceptions drive subsequent political influence behaviors, and much work has proceeded to explore the influence tactics and strategies of organizational actors. However, using influence tactics in the workplace does not necessarily equate to the successful use of influence tactics in the workplace. Just as one may play baseball, one needs skill in order to play baseball well. Therefore, a new focus of organizational politics research is on the construct development, validation and testing of a measure of individual political skill.
Political skill is defined as “the ability to effectively understand others at work, and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organizational objectives.” Politically skillful organizational actors combine an astute understanding of organizational climate and context with an ability to adjust their influence tactics and strategies as needed to accomplish their goals. As such, social awareness and skill in the use of influence tactics lie at the heart of political skill. However, other dimensions of political skill are important to consider, as well. There are four dimensions of the political skill construct: social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability and apparent sincerity.
Individuals who have political skill are adept at judging situations and others, keenly aware of the nature of social interactions and the forces which guide acceptable organizational behavior. This ability to understand workplace interactions (social astuteness) suggests that individuals who are highly politically skilled have a better chance of acting in ways that are appropriate, regardless of context. The ability to successfully influence others is the hallmark of a politically skilled individual. Networking ability is also an essential component of political skill in that networking is essential to enact influence. Politically skilled individuals develop strong relationships with others in order to develop positive personal reputations. These reputations serve as the basis for subsequent influence attempts. For example, individuals who network extensively to build their reputations are better able to influence their immediate supervisors in order to achieve desired outcomes, and by performing activities that benefit their coworkers, these individuals develop social capital which might be of use during subsequent influence engagements.
The final component of political skill is the concept of apparent sincerity, and this dimension of political skill takes center stage in this investigation. Individuals may be socially astute, have the ability/talent to influence others and may have developed substantial networks, but if the attempt to influence others is perceived as insincere, the influence attempt may fail and the actor may be perceived as a political “hack.” The important point made about political skill is that individuals who are skillful are able to do it in a manner that disguises any ulterior, self-serving motives and appears to be sincere. Whether the motives are sincere or not is irrelevant. Politically skilled individuals are believed to possess high levels of authenticity and genuineness, and they are known to inspire trust and confidence in others. As such, their influence attempts are not interpreted as manipulative. This study investigates the consequences of supervisor perceptions that a subordinate is insincere in his/her influence attempts.
About SMA
SMA membership consists of approximately 1,000 management professors, doctoral students and executives representing more than 200 colleges, universities and business firms in 43 states and several foreign countries.