Many chief executives talk about being "servant leaders" and team players. They care openly about everyone from employees to Mother Earth. In short, they're more likeable.
With greater transparency in business, there's no place to hide. Now that everything from retirement perks to personal emails are circulated on the Web, being a CEO can feel like running naked. In today's wired world, how you treat workers and the planet can quickly come back to haunt you in a blog or I-hate-your-company Web site. And a new breed of executives has started to talk more about the concerns of "stakeholders" who feel the impact of a business, instead of just shareholders.
A recent study in the Harvard Business Review found that people tend to choose work partners based on likeability. Professor Kim S. Cameron at the University of Michigan's Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship also cites studies showing that likeable people--those at the hub of what he calls "positive energy networks"--are four times more potent on the job than those who have influential jobs but are less popular. "Positive energy is the Holy Grail of business right now," he says:
Optimists and team players trump "experts" in business when it comes to getting things done.
Because they unleash energy in others, positive energizers are critical to improvements in both individual and company performance.
Focus on your organization's highest potential and emphasize its abundance of opportunities.
Try to build a culture that focuses on "virtuousness"--institutionalized compassion, forgiveness and integrity.
Rarely has there been more attention paid to personality in getting ahead. Mountains of leadership books and hours of coaching greet most high-potential executives. The recurring themes? Trust, inspiration, teamwork, authenticity. Jerks who deliver results are usually shoved into somebody's hands to learn a little tenderness before rising to the top job.
Bottom Line: The most important fan base is the one within your own company. Younger staffers simply won't stick around to work for idiot bosses. Their reaction to a command-and-control leader who blasts off mean missives or ridicules customers? Post the comments on a blog.
Source: BusinessWeek, June 26, 2006