Refining the Concept of Political Will: A Gender Perspective

Abstract

While politics are known to be prevalent at managerial levels, there is currently little insight into what drives managers to engage in organizational politics and whether there are gender differences in this respect. In the current study we explore the concept of political will by using a qualitative approach based on 14 semi-structured interviews with managers (five men and nine women) in a global semiconductor company. We identify key dimensions of managerial political will consisting of three attitudinal ambivalences: functional, ethical and emotional. We also examine gender differences along these dimensions and discuss managers' political will in the context of a masculine organizational setting. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the findings and further research directions.

From Politically Naïve to Politically Mature: Conceptualizing Leaders’ Political Maturation Journey

“…Findings largely reinforce extant conceptualizations of political will and skill dimensions (Doldor, Anderson and Vinnicombe, 2013;Ferris et al, 2007) (Appendices A2 and A3 provide additional evidence). An additional theme ('Creating alignment') emerged beyond the conceptualization of political skill proposed by Ferris et al (2007), arguably because creating alignment is quintessentially a leadership activity and possibly a dimension unique to leaders' political skill.…”

“…Typical for this stage was a relatively simplistic construal of political engagement as driven by narrow self‐interest (Kapoutsis et al ., ) and synonymous with backstabbing. There was reluctance to engage in politics and negative attitudes on the ethical dimension of political will (Doldor, Anderson and Vinnicombe, ). Emily (JL) describes getting ‘really aggressive and defensive’ when faced with politics, because she sees ‘people just using politics as a weapon to put people down’.…”

“…Unlike Mainiero's (1994) executives who described themselves as apolitical, study participants in stages 2 and 3 were not hesitant to describe themselves as political, incorporating in their political scripts broader, more positive meanings ascribed to political engagement. Thus, findings indicate that the attitudinal ambivalences toward political engagement identified by Doldor, Anderson and Vinnicombe (2013) are ultimately resolved in a longer-term maturation process. Additionally, while Kapoutsis et al (2015) argued that political will has both instrumental and benevolent components, findings show that junior leaders tend to understand political engagement largely through its instrumental facet (e.g.…”

“…There was reluctance to engage in politics and negative attitudes on the ethical dimension of political will (Doldor, Naïve assumptions about meritocracy and rationality in organizational life were gradually dismantled as leaders began to grasp the unwritten rules of the workplace. Leaders in this stage displayed low willingness to engage in politics, assuming that political engagement has mostly negative outcomes -this suggests that the outcome or functional dimension of political will is critical in individuals' motivation to behave politically (Doldor, Anderson and Vinnicombe, 2013;Treadway, 2012). Because politics were mostly construed as dysfunctional, illegitimate and accidental aspects of work, the most frequent engagement strategy was avoidance.…”

A Review of Political Skill: Current Research Trend and Directions for Future Research

“…While political skill is the ability to execute political behaviours competently, political will represents an individual's motivation to engage in such behaviours (Doldor et al 2013). While political skill is the ability to execute political behaviours competently, political will represents an individual's motivation to engage in such behaviours (Doldor et al 2013).…”