How really understanding politics will help you build better partnerships
What if the greatest opportunity for your career and your impact lies in the invisible spaces between words on your job description?
In this deeply thoughtful conversation, Niven Postma reveals the often overlooked realities of leadership, power, and politics in organisations.
✅ Understand why organizational politics aren't a bug, they're a feature, and how you can ethically and effectively navigate them
✅ Discover the power of building a "to-build" list of relationships as strategically as your to-do list
✅ Learn how to balance what matters to you with what matters to others in partnerships, and why that overlap is where transformative collaboration begins
Listen now to learn how mastering the informal side of leadership, the politics, relationships, and influence can unlock powerful partnerships and amplify your impact.
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Connect with Niven:
Learn More: Website
Connect with Niven on LinkedIn.
Key Insights:
✅ Spend less time on your to-do list—and more on your to-build list.
✅ Politics isn’t a bug. It’s a feature of every organization.
✅ Relationships can lie dormant for 15 years and still bear fruit.
✅ If you’re not in the room, someone else is making the decision about your future.
✅ Being technically correct doesn’t mean you’re being effective.
✅ If good people avoid power, they leave it to others who may not use it well.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Niven Postma
01:26 Niven's Backstory and Life Philosophy
04:05 Career Path in Financial Services
07:13 The Importance of Relationships
10:29 Understanding Workplace Politics
11:46 Defining Politics in Organizations
15:45 Navigating Politics with Integrity
20:00 Cultural Differences in Politics
22:04 Cultural Context in Leadership Principles
23:09 Awareness and Understanding of Politics
25:04 Assessing Political Intelligence
28:45 Engaging with Humanitarian Efforts
29:22 Navigating Complex Social Issues
34:30 The Challenge of Holding Paradox
37:34 Building Effective Partnerships
47:09 Understanding Risk in Leadership
53:10 The Importance of Storytelling
01:00:10 Reframing Perspectives on Life
01:02:03 Connecting with Niven Postma
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