In many workplaces—especially in tech and business—you’ll hear:
“I don’t want to play politics—I just want to do the work.”
It’s a comforting thought. Politics is often seen as a dirty word, conjuring up images of drama, power struggles, and intrigue. The solution seems simple: ignore the politics and focus on the goals. Unfortunately, this perspective is equal parts naive and dangerous, as it ignores the reality that everything is, to some extent, political.
That decision to ignore politics? It’s a political choice too, one that almost always supports the status quo. The status quo overwhelmingly favors those who hold power. Everyone else is left to navigate a system that often marginalizes their voices and concerns. To put it another way: silence is not neutrality—it’s complicity, which may not be the intent, but it is the outcome.
The myth of being “apolitical” is particularly seductive in the tech world, where data and logic are often seen as the ultimate arbiters of truth. Decisions are expected to be objective and quantifiable, free from the messy influence of human values or interests.
Yet every decision made about product features, hiring practices, engineering decisions, or workplace policies is inevitably shaped by values and priorities that reflect someone’s interests and power. In other words, the choices we make in the workplace are never just neutral decisions; they are political, because they decide who gets heard, who benefits, and who is left out.
At its core, politics isn’t manipulation or backroom deals. It’s the process of figuring out how we share power and resources and how we collectively decide what matters. Politics is about deliberation—open conversations about competing needs and concerns. It’s about compromise—finding ways to balance different interests so that everyone has a seat at the table. And it’s about accountability—ensuring that leaders answer to those they represent.
I’ve seen this firsthand, not just in the tech and business worlds, but in formal politics as well. When working on campaigns for candidates and issues, I learned that politics is about more than just winning elections. It’s about understanding needs, negotiating shared values, and trying to find common ground among diverse perspectives. It’s about being a proxy for the people you represent, trying to ensure their voices are heard and their concerns are addressed.
In my work as a consultant, I’ve seen how these principles show up in business settings too. Often, finding the right tech solution isn’t enough. You have to get everyone on board—aligning teams, addressing concerns, and making sure people feel heard and included. That’s politics, and it’s far better than decisions made in secret by the loudest or most powerful voices alone.
The same is true in my role as a project manager. A project manager is often a proxy for the team—someone who has to represent diverse perspectives and negotiate shared priorities. It’s a political role, even if we don’t always label it that way.
Even supposedly “neutral” decisions can be political. As anyone who has tried to order out for a team knows, choosing a restaurant is often fraught with political implications. Who gets to decide? What about dietary restrictions? Preferences for local versus chain restaurants? What about the budget? Absent a clear process, these decisions usually end up being made by the loudest voices or the most powerful people in the room.
Consider how decisions that seem purely technical or operational are actually deeply political. Given the choice between a feature that improves user experience and one that drives revenue, which one gets prioritized—and how do we decide? This isn’t just a technical question; it’s a political one. It reflects values about what matters most to the organization and who gets to shape those priorities.
What about hiring decisions? What skills are prioritized? What kind of culture is being built? These questions are not just about finding the right person for the job—they’re about defining the kind of workplace you’re creating and who gets to be part of it.
Even the claim that a company doesn’t “do politics” or “leaves politics at the door” is, in itself, a political stance. It suggests that the company accepts the status quo, which can mean a reinforcement of existing power dynamics and any inequities that come with it. In a way, it is choosing to ignore the complexity of human systems in favor of a simple and sanitized version.
Done well, politics can be a powerful tool for fairness, engagement, inclusion, and accountability. It’s about creating spaces where diverse voices can be heard and valued, where decisions are made transparently, and where everyone has a stake in the outcome. It’s about ensuring that the workplace reflects the values of its people, not just those at the top.
Consider successful open source projects, where politics is often embraced as a way to ensure that diverse contributors can shape the direction of projects. In these communities, decisions are made through open discussions, consensus-building, and active listening. This isn’t just about avoiding conflict; it’s about creating a culture where everyone feels empowered to contribute and where the best ideas can rise to the top, regardless of who they come from.
We see the political dimension of work play out in both headlines and data. Google’s Project Maven controversy—where thousands of employees forced leadership to reconsider its AI work for the Pentagon—highlights how workers can use politics to challenge harmful decisions. GitHub’s contract with ICE, which sparked protests and moral debates, shows how decisions framed as “just business” can have far-reaching social consequences. And persistent disparities in leadership—like women holding only 28% of global tech jobs, or underrepresented minorities just 12% in the U.S.—are not just data points; they’re the result of political choices about who gets included and who gets left out.
Political decisions often stir strong emotions. In the world of campaigns, I saw how deep emotional attachment can drive people’s choices. In workplaces, it’s no different. Acknowledging these feelings doesn’t invalidate concerns—it’s a sign that the conversation matters. The key is to stay grounded in shared values and keep the conversation open, even when it’s hard. Avoiding these discussions or treating them as distractions only allows the most powerful voices to dominate.
For individuals, the first step is to accept that politics isn’t an optional extra—it’s already part of your work life. Asking who benefits from a decision, or who is excluded, is part of engaging in healthy politics. Speaking up for fairness and inclusion isn’t about playing games; it’s about doing the real work of building a workplace that reflects everyone’s needs.
For leaders, reclaiming politics means creating spaces where people can voice their concerns and ideas openly, even when it’s uncomfortable. It means aligning your actions with your stated mission and modeling accountability at every level. Politics done well isn’t about manipulation—it’s about transparency and inclusion.
The moment we admit that everything is political, we stop seeing politics as a problem to avoid—and start using it as a tool for building workplaces and communities that truly reflect everyone’s voices. Good politics isn’t about picking fights—it’s about creating systems that are transparent, fair, and inclusive. And in a world where technology and business decisions shape so much of our lives, that’s the kind of politics we can’t afford to ignore.