Office politics is an inevitable incidence in every office, small or big. It corrodes decision-making, teamwork, relationship, and overall productivity of your business. Not to mention the stress it brings and numerous rumors ignited. As the overall leader, here are the things you can do:

Implement Performance-based Measures

You should set evaluation policies based primarily on the performance of your employees, both as an individual and team member. Without any formal system, you run the risk of rewarding the wrong employee and eventually trigger terrible office politics.

Stay in the Loop

As your business expands you will need extra hands to run the daily tasks. Given your busy schedule you may not have enough time to bond with your employees and monitor any tension in your office.

There is an interesting story I read in the book entitled The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, about staying connected with your people. Louis XIV, better known as the Sun King of France, had created a palace where his room is the literal center and surrounded by other members of his kingdom. In this way, he was updated on every single event happening in the palace.

The lesson for entrepreneurs is simple: openness must not only be encouraged, it must be formally organized and channeled.

Rumors go hand in hand with office politics. Learn how to diffuse them properly, because as Leadership Turn points out, rumors never die.