Does your boss have to be likeable to be effective? For a long time, a lot of people have believed that you don’t have to like your boss as much as you have to respect him or her. And should bosses be concerned about whether they are likeable or not – after all, isn’t their job to get the work done, not make friends?
A study of 51,836 leaders conducted by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman surprisingly found that of those leaders in the top quartile in terms of overall leadership effectiveness, only 27 were considered in the bottom quartile in terms of likeability. That calculates out to about .05% or about one in every 2,000. In other words, those who were most effective were most liked, or at least the least disliked.
So the questions become these: What makes leaders likeable, and can leaders become more likeable?
According to Zenger and Folkman’s analysis, which studied 360˚ feedback from over 50,000 leaders, the following leadership activities were among those consistent with leaders being more likeable:
- Trust and Integrity: Likeable leaders do the right thing, keep commitments and act in fair, consistent ways.
- Being positive: Likeable leaders spread optimism. “Positivity” in the group starts with the leader.
- Cooperation: Leaders that cooperate and collaborate with colleagues, instead of competing with them, are more likeable.
- Helping others reach their goals: Likeable leaders coach, mentor and teach.
- Inspiring others: Likeable leaders inspire people to do their best work.
- Focusing on goals and the future: Likeable leaders know where they are going and share their vision with their teams.
Leader likeability can influence results. Likeable people are more apt to be hired, get help at work, get useful information from others and see their mistakes forgiven. Leader likeability can have a direct effect on employee satisfaction and engagement, which makes employees more productive. There are benefits to the leader who increases his or her likeability
Leaders can become more likable. Dave Kerpen, in his book titled Likeable Leadership, defines being likeable not as being a pushover, but rather embracing people and being honest, authentic, transparent, helpful and kind. Kerpen recommends following the “platinum rule” as distinct to the “golden rule” for likeability. The platinum rule is to treat others not as you would like to be treated but as they would like to be treated. Here are some tips:
- Become insightful and self-aware. How much do you know about you? Where are you now? What would others like about you? Dislike about you? What would your reports say it is like working for you?
- Embrace authenticity, transparency, responsiveness and other principles you value. Be the kind of person you would like to be.
- Ask for advice or feedback. According to Zenger and Folkman’s research, the more the leader asked for feedback and acted on it, the more the leader was liked.
- Honestly assess how you stack up against the list of likeability traits above. Select two of them to work on, starting today.
Consider enrolling a leader in ASE’s Principles and Practices of Supervision I training classes. These classes teach those who are responsible for supervising others how to be more effective in the role. They include practical ways to create trust, help others, inspire others and build great relationships. For more information, click the links below. The next available dates are:
Sources: blogs.hbr.org; www.forbes.com; wsj.com