Wow, Johnnie's talking about changing the world and Jeff's getting holistic about innovation -- and all I want to talk about is jerks in the workplace!
While, of course, we'd all like to work with competent, likeable people, I found it really interesting that, when given a choice in this Fast Company poll between working with someone who is less skilled and likeable and someone who is more competent and a jerk, 90 percent chose more likeable over more competent.
What I find even more fascinating is how people interpreted the question, particularly the word "skill," which people took to mean everything from intelligence to talent to creativity in the poll's comment section and elsewhere (for example, here and here).
If the question had replaced the word "skill" with "creativity," "talent," and "intelligence," would your answer change? Having interpreted "skill" as being more along the lines of knowing how to use the tools of a particular trade (a software program, say, or a hammer), I voted with the majority. But I could be swayed to the other side, mainly because I can't imagine not being able to find something to like in a truly talented, creative, and intelligent person.
Do these qualities trump jerkitude in your mind? Or do they actually make a person more of a jerk because all that talent, creativity, and intelligence might make them impatient with those who don’t play in the same sandbox?
And, while you can teach skills (as I define them, anyway), can you train employees to be more likeable? Should you, given the value so many appear to place on likeability?
Related Stories: | Topics:Innovation, blogjam 2005, Fast Company Magazine |
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Recent Comments | 1 Total
August 8, 2005 at 12:56pm by Jennifer Warwick
Of course, I'd prefer to hire the more likeable person in the first place, and teach them the job.
That said, we've all inherited or promoted (or been) talented people who are good at their jobs and just unpleasant to be around. I see it in my clients when someone whose personality has served them well so far - say, a forceful, intelligent, persuasive, independent, rule-flouting person who has been a top salesperson - has found themselves promoted to a new position, often in management, where a new set of skills is called for. With presumably great intentions, but no practical experience in inspiring teamwork, building consensus, or setting a common vision for a group, they are often considered both unskilled and, as their frustration grows and they begin to act out, or simply fall back on their old lone-wolf habits, unlikeable.
I believe that people can learn both hard skills and how to be pleasant. Tim Sanders' book, "The Likability Factor," is a great place to explore the idea.