Politics and the nurse manager.

Sometimes, the "games being played" in our job settings cripple our ability to be powerful, effective participants in the world of work. Power, which is the ability to obtain, retain and move resources, requires two sets of attributes: competence and political savoir-faire. Much attention is given to improving competence but little time is spent in learning the intricacies of political behavior. The most important strategy is to learn to "read the environment" through observation, listening, reading, detachment and analysis.