Many professionals believe that if they work hard, and deliver results, their careers will take care of themselves. They are wrong. Wanting “office politics” not to exist does not make it go away.

Part of the problem is that politics at work is hidden.  Firms insist that decisions are meritocratic. Skilful operators conceal the extent of their political activity.

But power and politics are not a failure of professionalism, more a defining feature of knowledge work in large complex organisations. This is true in professional services, but also in finance, healthcare, education, government and beyond.

In this webinar, we will draw on Professor Laura Empson’s research into professional  services firms to show how mid-career professionals can learn to better navigate power and politics at work.

We will discuss:

• How to see past the organogram and map real power at work
• Why political behaviour is not a bug, but an integral part of organisational life
• How much time and energy successful senior leaders devote to politics
• Why your rational business case may fail to persuade, and what to do instead
• How to better understand the psychological needs of your colleagues and bosses

Laura Empson is Professor in the Management of Professional Service Firms at Bayes Business School and Professor of Leadership and Organization at Copenhagen Business School. She also holds Research Fellowships at both Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge.

In 2025 she was ranked in the global top 2% of researchers, according to Stanford University's "Leading minds in science" rankings. In addition to dozens of publications in leading academic journals, she has published several books with Oxford University Press, including Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas.

Laura writes regularly for Harvard Business Review and presents the podcast series, Leading Professionals. Before becoming an academic, Laura worked as an investment banker and strategy consultant. She has a PhD and MBA from London Business School. More at www.lauraempson.com

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