A Competent Jerk or a Lovable Fool?

Who do you prefer to work with: A competent jerk or a lovable fool?

Most companies have 4 basic archetypes among their staff: the competent jerk, the lovable fool, the lovable star and the incompetent jerk.

The competent jerk is someone who knows a lot but is very unpleasant to deal with. The lovable fool doesn't know much but is delight to have around, the lovable star is both smart and likeable, and the incompetent jerk, well, that's self-explanatory.

The authors of the research, Tiziana Casciaro and Miguel Sousa Lobo, shows that when people need help getting a job done, they will choose a congenial colleague over a more capable one.

Everybody wanted to work with a lovable star and nobody wanted to work with an incompetent jerk. Things get interesting when they faced the choice between competent jerks and lovable fools. ;)

If a colleague is strongly disliked, it's almost irrelevant whether or not, he or she is competent, people just won't work with such a person. Full stop.

By contrast, if someone is liked, his colleagues will seek out every little bit of competence he has to offer. Because you are relatively comfortable with people you know, you are likely to be more accepting of their difference.

A little extra likeability goes a longer way than a little extra competence in making someone a desirable work partner.

*Full article available on http://business.asiaone.com.sg/office/ask/20061206_001.html*


Quite an interesting article I came across when I was browsing through Asiaone. Quite true too... If you really like someone, you will tend to see his good points more than his bad ones...

Well, I guess there is no need to purposely change yourself in order to make yourself likeable or more likeable, it's a matter of still being yourself in a sincere and acceptable way that you and the people around you are comfortable with.

A little humbleness and likeability goes a long way... ;)