Red, Blue or Purple: Do you reveal your political viewpoints openly with colleagues?

Generally I believe it's a slippery slope that tends to lead to nothing really positive. I think the question that needs to be asked is whether you stand to gain anything by being open. Unless that gain is easy to identify and justify, I'd recommend steering clear. It's unfortunate we can't be more open - and I think we all would like to believe that we can be. I just don't think we are advanced enough or tolerant enough (as a race) to really and truly do so. Like everything, though, it depends a lot on the individual circumstances, the organization in which you work, and the people you work with.

It is a slippery slope and I do not discuss politics in the work place. During a major election a few years ago many employees were wearing buttons for one particular candidate. Although I made no comments, I was asked by a number of managers why I was not wearing a button for their candidate of choice. My answer was that I had not made a decision on how I was going to vote and in addition, I did not discuss politics in the office. This was clearly not a satisfactory answer to some who decided it was within their purview to either badger me about voting for their candidate of choice, or in one instance implying that I would not vote for their candidate must have been because of his/her race. I'm generally open about my values, but when it comes to politics or religion, I think it's best to keep those discussions out of the work place.

Working for a public relations/public affairs firm - our organizational position is neutral and bipartisan. Our team members though, unsurprisingly, come from both sides of the aisle. We share and debate viewpoints frequently and openly at work with the understanding that we're all shaped by our values and personal beliefs. With respectful tones and tempers, I think political discourse has its place in a number of corporate cultures.

I draw a distinction between "politics" and "public policy" discussions. The latter can be instructive within the firm so far as goes to data and options analyses. No right or wrong necessarily, but how one analyzes facts and unknowns, and applies to solutions does relate to how one applies research to problems that the firm and its customers have.

Also, Leanne, Burke's quote did not have "in America" in it. It is simply, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." The reference to America crept into it in the past couple years. It certainly was not in the Burke poster I had on my dorm room wall in the late 60's.

Charlie best expresses my general view on the subject. The current political climate is so polarized that there is probably nothing to be gained by opening a political discussion. It has nothing to do with one's business relationships, and why potentially ruin a good thing? Even if you are tolerant of an opposing view, you may find that your client or associate is not. Incidentally, those people who disagree with me politically...they're wrong. :-)

To colleges, yes as it provides a mutual understanding of one another.

To a prospect/client, never as you just never know what turns some people off and turned off prospects don't buy.

Living your values authentically may reflect philosophical positions, which is a good thing. Moving from values to politics (i.e., partisan positioning) requires "permission" from the client (at a high level). Not to mention, confidence that a respectful dialogue can be maintained, and even more important, that an underling won't transmit your positions to higher levels.

This is really better done on an off-site after hours basis. It shouldn't get in the way of the professional job at hand.

I am all for the wusses to do what they do best; Hide their freaking heads in the sand... If someone is so fearful that they can't even discuss politics for fear of harming someone’s itsey bitsey feelings then society is fast becoming obsolete... If you can't argue then you can't dance and the story is over… We might as well all just sign on to moveon dot org, shut our eyes, and do the Rip Van Winkle until someone maybe wakes us from our slumber or it's all over... Fairly soon we will or we already are becoming a nation of wimps with all this fuddy duddy, afraid of our own shadow, Captain Kangaroo, Big Bird mentality… Grow a backbone…

I stay clear of political- or religion-related discussions in the workplace. Assume nothing. If someone says something that is the opposite of my viewpoints, I pretend not to hear. I don't need to agree with someone's ideology to work with them.

When political discussions enter the workplace participants need to take care to negotiate the line between healthy debate and discussion and potential harassment. http://www.allbusiness.com/government/elections-politics-politics-political-p...

If one is living his or her values, not to reveal your political or even religious beliefs is a case of being unauthentic. However such discussions require respect and an attitude of "we agree to disagree."

In my opinion, because so many have hidden from their beliefs with the purpose to not offend (politically correct) and therefore with the hope to increase sales, this has resulted in us being in many of the messes we are currently experiencing. I am reminded of the quote by Edmund Burke who said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil in America is for good men to do nothing."

I agree with Leanne, but generally I try to assess each circumstance individually as to whether my comments will be respectfully received and considered — or to what degree the other people may have closed or small minds.

I see no point in seriously engaging with someone who has their mind totally made up and is only trying to start an argument or get on their soapbox or test you to see if you're an "insider" or an "outsider." However, if the person seems at all thoughtful, I have no problem with sharing a divergent view on the matter at hand, preferably one-on-one, often explaining how or why I came to hold that personal view.

In general, I find that being respectful, low-key, sharing from personal experience, and speaking from the heart rather than head-rhetoric will go a long way to helping others to actually hear you — and if it's possible, actually respect what you have to say, whether that concerns politics, faith, or any other "touchy" subject.

Al Shultz
http://www.alshultz.com/

Generally speaking, I prefer to present my thoughts and ideas clearly and openly to my colleagues and everyone I know. I believe a leader should have a defined stance on political issues and have the knowledge to defend once stance. However, I have learned to modulate my own conversations based on the receptiveness of the audience. For Instance, I will not insist in discussing my beliefs in the use of clean energy with someone who is the Head of Operations for Chrysler (and a defender of combustion engines); doing so in a business environment will unnecessarily polarize the participants and weaken the unity of the group.

Peggy, I agree with you that politics in the office can be a slippery slope. Experiences like the one you described occur more often than people think, not just in the office, but in other circumstances as well. One can either ignore the pressures of our colleagues and stay 'neutral' or take a stance or face the consequences.

If you decide to go for neutrality or remain confidential about your opinions, you will probably be doing what most smart people tend to do nowadays – stay out of trouble. Personally, I would prefer to take a stance. As the leader of my business, it is important for me to be honest and clear about who I am and what I want. There are certain times, though, when I prefer to speak more carefully – It would not be very business-smart to make a stance opposite to the person who is about to sign a million dollar contract with my company, right?

Many of my Spanish-speaking friends keep telling me, "No tienes pelos en la lengua" – it's a known phrase that translates something like "You have no hair in your tongue", meaning you always speak your mind even if it gets you in trouble :)

Jerry & Paulo,

I appreciate your comments. I have a pretty thick skin. I was the HR Director in a multi union environment that lobbied openly for political candidates. I thought it important that c level, mid and line managers trusted that I would handle their employee and labor relations issues, as well as discrimination concerns, without any personal or biased interest. I think I accomplished that while I was there, but maybe those managers who wanted to know my political affiliations would disagree.

I dont think that people are open as they should be even in Australia, most people follow political parties just as they do soccer or football teams, many are open to listen, but it is very much blah blah blah. Then there are those that have a more hardline approach that just dislike you because you represent the other camp. My gut feel, is that yes it is good to discuss politics, but be weary that not all people share your views, especially when it comes to poltics and religion:)

Since it is a requirement that Australian's have to vote they probable just stopped talking about Politicians.. That how they got their Guns taken away … They are no longer an open society but a closed one…
Ironically the woman who was the initiator in the gun turn in-pick up policy made sure the metal in the guns were melted down and turned into tin cans just so she could add insult to injury…
If all legal Americans were required to vote we just might not be in the mess we are in now…. However that does still does not explain how the Aussies let some rogue politician slip through the wire and had enough clout to take their weapons away…

It appears that the 3 term Texas Gov Perry is going to run for President... Now Perry has an ego the size of Texas and a personality to match ... If he does indeed run it will stir up the political pot and bring some real life back into the political arena ... This is a good thing because it will create an enormous amount of real political discussions back into the main stream and final there will be a runner with a real live pulse...
This will make it permissible for all would be politico’s to start talking politics’ again and the timid souls out there who are afraid of offending someone with a different view…

Oh, my.
I do love to comment on politics. This partisan paralysis has "politicized" me in a way unfamiliar to me since Robert Kennedy and Nelson Rockerfeller were on opposing sides.
Two things for myself: 1) during work, I find allowing these views to be front and center can distract me and others; and, 2) since I find that the public conversation has become such a free-for-all, I am attempting to remind everyone that we can create world with Language and we need to stop yelling and listen authentically.