Being Likeable Matters More Than Being Competent

August 11, 2009

From:  Trunk, P. (2007).  Brazen careerist: the new rules for success.  New York:  Warner Business Books.

It's hard to underestimate the impact of good social skills on your career.  In fact, across the board, in a wide variety of businesses, people would rather work with someone who is likeable and incompetent than with someone who is skilled and obnoxious, according to Tiziana Casciaro, professor at Harvard Business School.  People who lack social competence end up looking like they lack other competencies, too.

When it comes to holding down a job, social skills matter today more than ever.  The only way to differentiate yourself at the bottom is to be likeable.  As the need for social skills at work grows, the bar for good ones gets higher.

Many people do not need to be taught to be likeable.  But most of us have to work at it.  Fortunately, Casciaro's research shows that the biggest impediment to likeability is not caring, so if you simply decide to do better, you probably will (Trunk, 2007, p. 90)."

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