Federal Article Feeds Monday, August 08, 2005
Are you a lovable fool? a competent jerk?
The June issue of Harvard’s Business Review includes a new study on work partners. According to the abstract:
“New research shows that work partners tend to be chosen not for ability but for likeability. Drawing from their study encompassing 10,000 work relationships in five organizations, the authors have classified work partners into four archetypes: the competent jerk, who knows a lot but is unpleasant; the lovable fool, who doesn’t know much but is a delight; the lovable star, who’s both smart and likeable; and the incompetent jerk”.
Clearly, everyone wants to work for the lovable star, but most people would rather work for the lovable fool than the competent jerk. That doesn’t surprise me (having had to work for a number of competent jerks over the years), but what’s the lesson to learn? Attempt to reform the jerks in your organization and recognize that it’s not always foolish to keep a few fools around.