Why It Pays to Placate Your Colleagues

Many people are raised to think hard work and talent are the only keys to getting ahead. But in Workplace Poker: Are You Playing the Game, or Just Getting Played?, Dan Rust argues that it’s just as important to ace office politics. The key, he writes, is to study your boss and colleagues like an anthropologist. One way: pay close attention to your co-workers’ base behavior–how they dress, talk and act–and watch out when they deviate from that norm; that might mean it’s the perfect time for an important conversation (or a good day to keep your mouth shut, depending on their personality). Once you’re attuned to the quirks of your colleagues, he writes, it should be easier to find ways to promote the work you do without coming across as a blowhard. “It is not about pushing others out of the way of your career path,” Rust writes. It’s about seizing your “fair share of the recognition–and reward.”

–SARAH BEGLEY