Career Development Rule #10: Recognize Likeability As An Ability

We prefer to do business and spend time with those we like. Because work is what consumes the majority of our time, your likeability factor can be an asset or a liability in your career development and advancement.

Very few people are aware of how likeable or unlikeable they are. Psychology teaches us that we all hold positive illusions about ourselves, which make it difficult to gauge how others see us, much less how likeable they find us to be.

Personality factors aside, there are qualities that characterize the likeable person that can be cultivated such as genuineness, empathy, maturity, positivity, and a sense of humor. It's not just enough to possess these qualities, they must be displayed with consistency. After all, it would be freaky to see these traits in someone during one encounter, and notice their absence subsequently, right?

Some say if you have to cultivate these qualities your likeability is not natural; hinting that one would be acting fake or would be a fake.

That's not true.

Likeability is like talent; we are all born with varying degrees of it, and what we lack has to be developed. It's up to us to recognize likeabiity as an ability that allows us to be firmly embraced by those who value us as professionals, and enjoy us as people.