If you’re just starting out in your career, chances are you’re learning how to navigate the unwritten norms that shape your organization’s culture.
According to Cynthia Groves – a leadership expert and adviser at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business – understanding those implicit office rules requires the same strategic thinking as playing a game of chess.
Groves, who leads her own consulting firm, considers her career journey as a series of “chess moves,” guided by mentorship, trust-building and collaboration. Now, she’s out with a playbook on those lessons, “Mastering the Corporate Chess Game: Strategies for Advancing Your Career.”
The book features her insights, as well as chapters from other top executives who share their experiences decoding the unwritten rules of the workplace.
From CBS News senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell, to former presidential appointee at the U.S. Small Business Administration, Cherylyn Harley LeBon, to elite gymnast-turned-real estate principal Lizzy Conroy – Groves taps leaders from across industries who reflect on their early career challenges and provide practical advice for the next generation.
Groves recently shared lessons from the book, including the first steps every young professional should take to decoding their workplace culture.
Below is the conversation, which has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Know Your Value: Why did you decide to write this book and who is it for?
Groves: During my consulting career at the “Big Four” accounting firms (Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KMPG), I thought how wonderful it would be to pass on all the knowledge I had accumulated throughout my career to those workers who are just starting out and may not have the benefit of a mentor.
“Mastering the Corporate Chess Game” will help young professionals eager to understand workplace dynamics, forge meaningful connections, and build collaborative teams.
Know Your Value: Your book focuses on deciphering the unwritten rules of workplace culture. What do you think is the biggest unspoken norm that young professionals consistently overlook?
Groves: Norms are the unwritten practices that a given culture demands. In a firm, young professionals do not influence how tasks are assigned, how rewards are distributed and how career advancement is achieved.
Listening and observing carefully is critical to a chess player’s win at the end of the game. Almost always, it requires meeting other people in the same environment and engaging in dialogue and building trust. Norms are communicated by those who have been in the environment for some time. It is just how things are done, often without conscious thought. A trusting relationship with experienced co-workers can be invaluable to navigating the complexity of the normative structure.
Know Your Value: The book shares personal stories from contributors across different industries. Was there a particular story or pivot you loved the most?
Groves: In the second chapter, Sean Hand shows how he successfully changed careers within KPMG without having to start over each time he made a career move. Sean details the steps he took to achieve his career goal.
Know Your Value: So many people enter the workforce feeling unprepared for the subtleties of office dynamics. Based on your research and the experiences in the book, what is the first move a new professional should make to start decoding those norms.
Groves: The “corporate chess game” is what we call strategies that successful players use to their advantage when confronted with business scenarios that may derail their success.
To be used effectively, these strategies need to be appropriate to the circumstance; therefore, the first step before engaging in the chess game is to observe and understand the unwritten rules of your organizational culture.
Too often, the norms of the culture are never explicitly discussed in the firm. How does one learn them? The subtleties of how the norms vary over different situations must be observed actively. Only then can someone plan their own course of how to play the chess game to their own advantage.
Know Your Value: If you could erase one unwritten workplace rule and replace it with a better one, what would it be?
Groves: In the game of chess, unlike in life, there can be only one winner. Your career success is not a zero- sum game, and your success need not come at the expense of anyone else’s.
Learning how to play chess is a step-by-step process. Unfortunately, the world of work can be cruel. You may have to deal with gossip, jealousy, being shut out of important meetings or initiatives, or being ignored.
Communication in the corporate world is key. People become territorial and like to work in silos. This will impede their success and the success of the group.
Know Your Value staff