Power Play: Don’t get dragged into petty disagreements

Petty disagreements are part and parcel of every workplace. There’s no accounting for how many times we can all take the low road.

Petty disagreements will happen almost every day and twice on Sunday.

When they do, Power Players stay away from them. Others will try to drag them into it, but Power Players have seen this behaviour before. They never let themselves get dragged into petty disagreements. For two big reasons: first it gives the pettiness legitimacy and second it takes the Power Player to a level that is quite frankly beneath them.

The minute you take a step down, you surrender the high ground and you lose your gravitas. No matter how tempting it might be to referee a petty fight or step in and take a side, Power Players never do. If it’s petty it’s beneath every great Power Player and the people concerned need to learn to sort it out themselves.