Is Your Business Likeable?

Did you know that one of the central questions for predicting Organisational & Business Success is how likeable you, your employees and your company is?

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn believed that being ‘good & likeable’ & ‘not so good & not so likeable’ was inherent in us all — everyone has the capacity to be both ‘good or bad’ — & as Dr Samuel Johnson might have said, ‘The presence of a Gulag very probably focused the mind wonderfully’!

Recent research carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Technology shows that 85% of your financial success is due to skills in Human Engineering; your personality & ability to communicate, negotiate & lead — your personal charisma perhaps?

Daniel Kahneman a prize winning psychologist has also found that people, perhaps not unsurprisingly, would rather spend time, listen to and do business with a person they like and trust, rather than someone they don’t, even if the likeable person is offering a lower quality product or service at a higher price.

Whilst Robert House back in 1977 raised the importance of Emotional Interaction as integral to great Leadership.

This piece pulls together several strands that have recently emerged from my Thought Sharing pieces on Management, Leadership, Organisational & People Development themes also shared on Medium and which The Mudd Partnership believes are all vital to both creating the conditions for and ensuring the super performance of Individuals, Teams, Organisations, Boards & Businesses.

Everywhere in fact, where Communication is key and is not just about broadcasting ideas, visions & policies, but is also very fundamentally about eliciting ideas from others & having a conversation.

In addition, the traits and characteristics I am now going to identify and discuss are not in any way unnatural to the human condition. You all have them if you want them.

But if lacking, or not naturally prominent, they can be nurtured & supported through Coaching & other development activities; & I feel that each trait when combined together forms a greater, more coherent and powerful whole, from which a more likeable and successful Individual, Business, Leader, Team or Executive Board can emerge.

So, Lets start then with:

– Trait №1 — Being Authentic: I’ve talked about Authentic Leadership in other pieces on various platforms and for me the key to Authenticity is accepting and being who you really are: There is a saying that goes, “Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman — Then be Batman” — But what really is Authenticity? It could in part be Jean Paul Sartre’s notion of ‘Acting in Good faith’, but perhaps we should not get too existentialist about this! Certainly, living your values, having integrity, recognising your own vulnerability — See the Brene Brown TED Talks on this — Acting with humility and being grateful are all key characteristics, as is being positive and energetic: Being transparent is also a prerequisite, particularly with being comfortable in today’s on-line world and being able to share both your public and private self, as there is increasingly less of an obvious dividing line; next

– Trait №2 — Being Emotionally Intelligent: In particular, remembering the work of Daniel Goleman & Richard Boyatziz, E.I. is an old friend and so very, very important — Increasingly though there is more and more discussion around the supporting elements of Moral Intelligence & Body Intelligence & I’ll look in more detail at these and how important they are in future pieces: Emotional Intelligence though is perhaps best defined under the headings of:

• Self & Social Awareness, being aware of your own feelings, needs and requirements & sensitive and responsive to those of others
• Self Management, regulating those feelings in yourself and others, using emotions that are appropriate to the situation, &, being self-motivated; &
• Relationship Management, building relationships and being able to handle conflict and influence others

It is also important to develop healthy coping strategies and become aware of your Inner Dialogue; which brings us to

– Trait №3 — Being able to tell a Story: Are you able to speak in images and communicate a vision that others can smell, touch and feel i.e. really engage with? People crave simplicity and also they want ideas and propositions they can relate to: The ability to visualise, distill complex ideas which can be simply and clearly articulated, to develop a coherent narrative arc, &, be both compelling and persuasive will all add immeasurably to your own and your Businesses or Organisations likeability quotient: Storytelling is just as important whether you are a small business owner or the CEO, Leader of a Council, or Chair of a major company where you need to sell the vision for the whole Organisation: Telling a compelling Story is what captivates and engages people with the new product-line, or service, the business case for restructuring, or the grand new vision & design for growth, &, motivates them to take part and contribute to its success: In Change Management, or with Business, Leadership & Organisational Development, we must not confuse or underestimate the power of narrative; which leads neatly to the other side of the coin

– Trait №4 — Being able to Listen: There is a great line from Chekov which goes, ‘Everybody’s talking but nobody’s listening”, whilst Harvard’s Ronald Heifetz & Marty Linsky talk about listening for the, “Song beneath the words”: Listening and being able to pick up on both verbal and non verbal clues is the cornerstone of any successful relationship and great businesses, excellent leaders, &, super performing individuals and organisations listen to what their customers, prospects, colleagues, competitors, investors, share & stakeholders have to say — & the very best Listen More! A very good book to read on this is, ‘Pitch Perfect’ by John Leach & John Moon which looks in some detail at Functional Mastery, Customer Connectivity & Momentum; next

– Trait №5 — Being a Black Swan: Super Performing Individuals, Businesses & Organisations are agile, humble and willing, which sets them apart and enables them to respond in a fast-paced, quick-to-change world: In other pieces, again available on Medium I have looked at developing Resilience & becoming Anti-Fragile, which means that you and your business or organsiation thrives where change is a constant and you not only endure the “Slings & Arrows of Outrageous Fortune”, but benefit from the challenges and shocks of random events; & finally

– Trait №6 — Being Passionate: Not withstanding the inherent tension in any enterprise to be pragmatic, don’t forget the Passion! Do you Love what you do & do what you Love? Bring passion into the workplace and you can create remarkable advantages: Passion is contagious & it can bind and unify, whilst the stronger it becomes the greater the potential for growth and performance above and beyond the norm: So actively look for ways to increase passion across everything you do and are responsible for by for instance looking for opportunities to think outside the box, to innovate & to surprise and delight at each and every turn.

Paul Mudd is the author of ‘Uncovering Mindfulness: In Search Of A Life More Meaningful’ available on Amazon and www.bookboon.com; the ‘Coffee & A Cup of Mindfulness’ and the ‘Mindful Hacks For Mindful Living & Mindful Working’ series. He is also a Contributing Author to The Huffington Post and a Contributing Writer to Thrive Global. Through The Mudd Partnership he works with business leaders, organisations and individuals in support of change, leadership excellence, business growth, organistional and individual wellbeing and well doing, and introducing Mindfulness. He can be contacted at paul@themuddpartnership.co.uk and you can follow the continuing journey uncovering Mindfulness on Twitter @TheMindfulBook and at @Paul_Mudd