Playing Office Politics
A B2 video lesson built on an HBR IdeaCast interview about why office politics matter and how managers build networks and influence. It suits managers and cross-functional professionals and ends with a role-play in which two department heads negotiate how to split extra work.
Print-ready A4 PDF · teacher's notes and answer key included
What's inside
- Warm-up discussion
- Vocabulary matching
- Gist listening (multiple choice)
- Transcript gap-fill
- Sentence completion
- Pair discussion
- Role-play
- Action planning
- Reflection
By the end, learners can
- Explain why avoiding office politics can be self-defeating
- Identify the three networks managers need: operational, strategic and developmental
- Use expressions for influence, trust and relationships in context
- Negotiate a fair split of extra work in a cross-functional role-play
- Plan practical steps to strengthen their own professional network
Skills: Listening · Speaking · Vocabulary · Writing
Suits: Managers · Team leaders · Project managers · Cross-functional professionals
Language practised: Negotiating a fair split of work · Defending your team's position · Proposing a reciprocal arrangement · Describing relationships and influence
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