Where there are people, there will be politics. It is inevitable for people at the workplace to pull each other down to climb the corporate ladder.

You help people succeed and then they are insecure. The same people will try to kick you out of their way to feel secure.

What happens at the middle management is that individuals find themselves stuck between the top and bottom levels. Already losing control over performance, the middle managers are also required to ensure the timely achievement of results and targets. Based on the performance of the team, promotions are decided. Hence, the managers thrive on their high-performing teams.

As they build on the performance of others, they push their competitors out of the way. A Machiavellian manager might pit members against each other, take credit for the success and efforts of others and when the time comes, they will also scapegoat others to protect their image and reputation.

As tough as it sounds, people like these tend to move forward quickly in their careers, especially in the corporate world.

In one of the companies I worked with, the partners were dependent on the performance of the project managers. The project managers were dependent upon the performance and efforts of their team members. The partners feared high-performing project managers. Project managers feared high-performing team members. To ensure that they minimize threats to them, they kicked out the very people who were the reasons for their success.

This created disenchantment. All the high performers quit their jobs. The mediocre ones kept working and moving up as they kept their Partners happy. While these people ensured that they were not threatened by high performers, it created a mediocre organization. Eventually, the firm ceased to be the leader in their space.

As individuals, always be wary of Machiavellian managers.

You cannot avoid office politics, but you can learn to manage it effectively. Here are some tips:

– Be careful of such managers and maintain your distance from them.
– Politics is not a bad word. Please learn to manage it.
– Make sure that the senior management knows the reality of the manager through multiple sources.
– Switch your team. When more and more people switch teams, it is tough to hide, and the senior management will surely take note of it.

Dealing with a Machiavellian manager is surely tough. But don’t you worry, we’ll be there at every step in your career management journey!

Have you ever encountered a Machiavellian manager?

How did you deal with them? We would love to know your experiences in the comments!