Competent Jerks and Lovable Fools
The latest issue of the Harvard Business Review has a great article titled “Competent Jerks, Lovable Fools, and the Formation of Social Networks“. They categorize the different types of employees into a 2X2 matrix with competence as one of the axis and likability as the other (so they end up with four profiles - (going clockwise starting from the bottom left)the incompetent jerk, the competent jerk, the lovable star and the lovable fool). Boy, does this bring back memories…
Interestingly enough - but perhaps not so surprising - likability is the stronger factor in the development of social networks within companies. The lovable fool is mildly wanted while the competent jerk is mostly avoided (with the incompetent jerk is desperately avoided)! That means that competent jerks are a total missed opportunity for companies unless they can “correct” their behavior…
[Technorati Tags: competence employees social networks]
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