To place this within larger political context, though, is most useful for you to start by reviewing this outstanding summary of issues in organizational politics:
You are going to require access to some of vocabulary of leadership analysis, both for this case and for your future work. Following is the sufficient general summary, cast in largely nonacademic frame but still reflecting academic analysis of leadership. (Optional readings and supplementary material contain considerable extra supporting material on leadership analysis if you would like to dig further into this aspect of case.)
Marilyn Moats Kennedy in 1998 published "New rules of leadership and organizational politics - In Trenches" in Physician Executive but you do not require to be doctor, or even be sick, to understand that power, politics, and leadership are integrally tied up, and that leader requires to understand political context in which she/he functions. Read this for prescriptions offered -- and for ten-year perspective on evolving trends.
For newer take on situation, read this short summary on much same topic:
Case Assignment
Read these articles in light of material which you have read on organizational leadership and politics, supplemented if you desire with material from optional readings and maybe extra background as well, and even other outside reading you might find by yourself to be useful. Then write short paper explaining how exercise of leadership depends on understanding politics of organization.
Try to sum up key lessons of Kennedy article in no more than two sentences. Then do same for Sun article.
To what degree do two articles come to same conclusions? Are there any areas where you see their advice as differing?
Are there any differences in time frame or other context features of two articles which might affect their conclusions about relationship of politics to leadership??
sum up your overall thoughts on th management of power in social relationships, balance of personal vs. organizational responsibility for doing this management, and relationship of this management (that is, politics) to leadership (note -- there's no "one right answer" here, but when you have stated your conclusions, remember that you require to back up your argument with facts).
What, if anything, does thinking about "organization as a political system" add to what we have learned by thinking about "organization as a machine", an "organization as an organism", an "organization as a brain", and an "organization as a culture"?