Admit it. You are a likable employee, or you want to become one. How do I know? Because you are reading this post. And why wouldn’t you want to be liked?
What if I told you becoming a likable employee requires no magical power, no throwing colleagues under the bus, and no bullying tactics. Really?
And now, you’re thinking: “what’s the secret?” Since you are in a rush, let’s get straight to it. Shall we?
The secret?
Likable employees know how to influence people. How? What I am trying to say is, likable employees are skilled at lifting their teammates up. They do their best to avoid hurting their colleagues’ feelings and pride.
Contrary to popular belief, criticizing your colleagues does not make you likable even if it might make you feel good about yourself.
In fact, the famous lecturer and the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie, put us it this way, “Criticism is dangerous because it puts people on the defensive and usually makes them strive to justify themselves. It wounds a person’s pride and sense of importance. It arouses resentment and only creates temporary change.”
But wait, there’s more.
Dale Carnegie also said, “Telling people they are wrong sends a direct blow to their judgment, intelligence, pride and self-respect. That will never make them agree with you, it will only make them want to strike back.” Did you get the point?
So, what can be done?
Being likable is NOT for people who are self-centered, narcissistic, and weak.
Want to be more likable? Work on becoming more empathetic.
To repeat Dale Carnegie one last time, “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”
Now my question is: “Do you have what it takes to elevate the people you work with?”
Have questions? Shoot the CBL Team an email and check out our book: Creating Winning Career Systems.
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