Politics Isn't a Dirty Word: Why Design Leaders Need Organizational Intelligence

Note: This post explores a topic that makes many design leaders and designers uncomfortable: organizational politics. If you’ve ever felt like navigating relationships and influence is somehow “not what you signed up for” as a design leader, this one’s for you.

The P-word problem

Let’s face it, when someone says “office politics,” most of us immediately think of the worst behaviors we’ve witnessed: backstabbing colleagues, credit-stealing managers, or those people who seem to spend more time manipulating than actually working. I get it. I’ve seen bad politics destroy teams, projects, and derail talented people’s careers.

But here’s the thing: when design leaders proudly declare “I don’t play politics,” what they’re really saying is “I’m going to ignore the complex human dynamics that determine whether my team succeeds or fails.” And that’s a problem.

I learned this the hard way early in my career. I had this idealistic notion that if I just did excellent work and championed my team and the users, everything else would fall into place. I believed in a meritocracy where the best ideas would win. Leadership would see the value. Resources would follow.

Spoiler alert: that’s not what happened.

When ignoring politics backfired

I remember being blindsided when a critical hire I desperately needed got rejected — not because the business couldn’t afford it, but because I hadn’t built the right relationships with finance and workforce planning. I’d focused all my energy on my design team and cross-functional partners, but I’d completely ignored the people who controlled the budget. They didn’t understand what this role would do or why it mattered. And whose fault was that? Mine.

Meanwhile, another leader in the organization — someone whose work was less directly impactful than what my team was delivering — got every request approved. Why? Because they’d invested time in helping those budget-holders understand their team’s value. They’d built relationships. They had communicated impact in terms that mattered to finance. They’d done the political work I’d been too “principled” to do.

That was my wake-up call. Politics wasn’t optional. It was a core leadership competency I’d been neglecting.

What politics actually means

If the word “politics” just elicited some sort of instinctive recoil from you, you’re not alone. Let’s reframe this. When I talk about organizational politics, I’m not talking about manipulation or self-serving behavior. I’m talking about organizational intelligence: understanding the complex web of motivations, relationships, power structures, and decision-making patterns that exist in every company.

Think about it this way: as designers, we invest enormous energy in understanding our users. We map their motivations, needs, pain points, and goals. We study their behavior. We build empathy. We do this because understanding people is how we create value for them.

Why would we not apply that same rigor to understanding the people we work with? The executives who control resources, the middle managers who can champion or block your work, the cross-functional partners whose support you need, even the junior employees whose insights might surprise you?

Good politics is applied empathy. It’s user research for your organization.

Good politics vs. Bad politics

Here’s where we need to draw clear lines, because not all political behavior is created equal.

Good politics looks like:

Building genuine relationships: I make it a point to have regular 1:1s and coffee chats with leaders across the organization, not because I need something from them right then, but because I’m genuinely interested in understanding their challenges and see how I can add value. When I eventually do need their support, we already have a foundation of mutual respect.

Strategic communication: When I’m advocating for design headcount, I don’t just talk about user experience. I translate our impact into metrics that matter to the CEO, CFO, CTO, and other decision-makers: reduced support costs, improved conversion rates, and decreased development rework. Same work, different framing — and it lands.

Coalition building: Before proposing a major design initiative, I identify who else in the organization would benefit from it. Product management wants faster iteration? Engineering wants better handoffs and fewer last-minute changes? Customer success wants fewer escalations? Great — now we’re all championing this together, not just design shouting into the void.

Transparent influence: I’m always clear about what I’m trying to accomplish and why. There’s no hidden agenda. I’m trying to build a stronger design culture because I believe it will help the company succeed. Period.

Bad politics looks like:

Zero-sum thinking: I once watched a leader torpedo another team’s project because they saw it as competition for executive attention. Both teams suffered. The company suffered. That’s not politics, that’s sabotage.

Information hoarding: Using what you know as leverage, or deliberately keeping others in the dark to maintain power is antithetical to everything design stands for.

Credit stealing: Taking credit for your team’s work or other people’s ideas to make yourself look good destroys trust faster than anything else.

Playing people against each other: I’ve seen leaders create conflict or competition between colleagues to advance their own position. This destroys once-healthy cultures.

The difference? Good politics serves the mission and the people. Bad politics serve only yourself.

Why Design leaders can’t afford to ignore this

Here’s why this matters specifically for design leadership:

Most of us are entering organizations where design isn’t fully understood or valued yet. We’re often building something new or transforming something that exists. That means we’re asking for resources, attention, understanding, and trust before we’ve proven ourselves. We’re advocating for changes to how the company operates.

Without organizational intelligence, you can’t:

• Secure the budget your team needs to deliver impact

• Protect your people from being treated as order-takers

• Elevate design in strategic conversations

• Navigate resistance to design-led approaches

• Build sustainable influence that outlasts individual projects

I’ve seen talented design leaders fail because they couldn’t navigate organizational dynamics. They had the vision, the skills, and the talent, but they couldn’t build the support systems necessary to execute.

I know what some of you are thinking: “But I got into design to advocate for users, not to play corporate games.”

I hear you. Many of us were drawn to design because we care about people and want to solve real problems. The political side of leadership can feel uncomfortable, even wrong. It can feel like we’re compromising our values or becoming the thing we dislike about corporate culture.

So here’s how you reframe it: Understanding organizational dynamics isn’t about abandoning your values but rather about making sure your values actually have impact.

You can have the most user-centered vision in the world, but if you can’t secure the resources to execute it, if you can’t build support from leadership, and if you can’t navigate resistance from other departments, your users never benefit from your vision.

Political awareness isn’t selling out. It’s growing up as a leader.

Practical frameworks for ethical political navigation

So how do you develop organizational intelligence without losing your integrity? Here’s what I’ve learned:

Know your stakeholders: Who are the decision-makers, influencers, and blockers for what you’re trying to accomplish? What are their goals, concerns, and success metrics? What keeps them up at night?

Invest before you need to withdraw: Build relationships when you don’t need something. Help others succeed. Share credit generously. Create goodwill that compounds over time.

Speak multiple languages: Learn to translate design value into the terms that matter to different audiences. Your CFO cares about different things than your CPO, who cares about different things than your CTO. They’re all valid perspectives.

Find your allies: Who else in the organization shares your goals, even if they’re coming at it from a different angle? Engineering might care about reducing technical debt. You care about design systems. That’s a natural alliance.

Be transparent about your intentions: I always try to be clear about what I’m working toward and why. “I’m advocating for this hire because I believe it will help us move faster and reduce rework. Here’s the ROI case.” No hidden agendas.

Read the room: Pay attention to organizational dynamics. How are decisions really made? Who has informal influence? What are the unwritten rules? When is the right time to push, and when should you wait?

Stay true to your principles: There will be moments when the political move conflicts with your values. That’s your line. Don’t cross it. There’s always another way.

When politics go too far

Let me be clear: there are bright lines you should never cross, no matter how politically advantageous it might seem. Some non-negotiables I drew for myself:

• Don’t throw someone under the bus to protect yourself

• Don’t take credit for work that isn’t yours

• Don’t deliberately mislead to advance your agenda

• Don’t use your position to punish people who disagree with you

• Don’t build relationships purely as transactions

If you find yourself in an environment where these behaviors are required to succeed, that’s not a political challenge; that’s a toxic culture. And sometimes the most politically savvy move is recognizing that and finding a healthier organization.

The Long Game

Here’s what I’ve learned over the years: the leaders who last, who build something sustainable, who create real change, they’re the ones who mastered organizational dynamics without losing their integrity.

They understand that politics isn’t about manipulation. It’s about understanding people, building authentic relationships, communicating effectively, and creating the conditions for good work to have impact.

They know that you can’t advocate for users if you can’t advocate for your team. And you can’t advocate for your team if you don’t understand how your organization actually works.

Your turn

I know this topic makes many design leaders uncomfortable. We’d rather talk about design systems, research methodologies, or craft. But if you’re stepping into leadership — or if you’re already there and wondering why your great ideas keep hitting walls — this is the work.

Start small. Map your stakeholders. Build one new relationship with someone outside your immediate circle. Learn what matters to your CEO, CFO, or head of operations. Start seeing your organization as a complex system to understand, not an obstacle to overcome.

Politics isn’t a dirty word. It’s just people, complexity, and the challenge of creating change in imperfect systems. And if we can bring the same empathy, curiosity, and strategic thinking that we bring to our design work, well, that’s when the magic happens.

What’s your relationship with organizational politics? I’d love to hear your experiences: the good, the bad, and the ugly lessons learned. Understanding people isn’t playing games. It’s leadership.