Lesson Learned: Politics is N.S.F.QA

Warning! Politicians .. please avert your eyes to this post  as it may offend your sensibilities ... as most things tend to do

I wish to preface this post by wishing all of you - whatever denomination you may or may not be - a blessed holiday.

Having written this on the later days of Easter, I felt it appropriate to begin a new season by reflecting on the past.

It was some time ago that experienced first-hand the effects (positive and negative) of politics in the workplace.

Positive

If there can be some positive take-aways from the effects politics is that  forming the right alliances with the right people can be advantageous for both career growth and professional development. Its always best to surround yourself with people that are going to bring you up, not motivated to take you down. These people will nurture your professional growth and act as "mentors" that you may one day pay it forward.

Negative

Then there is the uglier side of politics. The "dark side" as it were that does more to impact personal and professional growth. These agents serve in the interest of themselves at the expense of others and mask their ineptitude in politics. I've seen first-hand how an entire department can suffer in performance when games are played. 

I've also seen how a lack of accountability, either from a fellow co-worker, or superior can cause strife, aggravation, and unnecessary duress. I'm not saying I'm perfect, and I've taken stock of the things I could have done better, but never once did I engage in any sort of political shenanigans to better my station.

Conclusion

In closing, I write this as a way to finally rid myself of the things in my past that have had a significant impact in my current endeavors. I can summarize this post by simply saying politics is not safe for QA. Politics get in the way of us effectively doing our job as primary defense against the hostile environs of production and mass consumption. Politics has no place in Quality Assurance, but sadly, it rears its ugly head when the quality of a product tested or service provided is impacted by external influences. And who gets the blame when it goes bad? ..... Exactly!

Thoughts?