Smart might get you the job but Communications & Niceness keeps the job

You get screened into the interview by being skilled and talented.  You get the job and employee support by being a good communicator, by being empathetic and nice!!!

When it comes to being a good boss, employees say being nice trumps being smart

Carolyn Kepcher

Friday, March 18th 2011, 4:00 AM

Soleil/Getty/file photo

A Harvard Business School study found that in some cases, likeablity is preferred to competency. One way companies can help train their managers is through an anonymous 360-degree review.

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Would you prefer your boss be a good person, or a good communicator?
A recent Harvard Business School study looked at the effects of being likeable in the workplace. The results were interesting: Although we all obviously prefer to work for people who have both people skills and competence, when given a choice between one or the other, people overwhelmingly prefer a likeable person over a highly skilled person who is a poor communicator.
Internet giant Google recently launched their own research study among their employees to get a sense of what makes for a great boss in their unique culture of computer programmers, engineers, and cutting-edge Internet business analysts.
The results? Not quite what Google had expected. While they had assumed that their highly-technical staff would want other technically skilled people leading them, Google's employees preferred an accessible, communicative boss.
"My first reaction was, 'That's it?'" Laszlo Bock, Google's vice president for People Operations, recently said.
Yes. That's it.
Here is where it gets complicated. Most companies are still not hitting that elusive blend of talent, skill and leadership ability when it comes to hiring and promoting the right people.
Over and over again we hear, "He is great at what he does, but he's just so hard to work for." Or, "She had the best skills and the most experience on the team, so naturally we figured she deserved a promotion, but it's just not working out."
How can employers do a better job at providing workers with one of the most important tools they need in order to do their jobs, i.e., a good boss?
Promoting
What should happen to all of those technical geniuses who are performing beautifully at their jobs and deserve some advancement? In order to be promoted, must they now have to take on the responsibility of being in charge of other people?
Leading others is a very difficult and important task - one that is not a fit for everyone. Larger companies might look at implementing a whole new career track that allows for promotion to greater responsibility (such as planning, designing, quality control, process improvement) without being a "boss" who directly supervises people.
Back to the classroom
For those bosses who have already been hired or promoted despite having no business leading other human beings, the company has two choices: Either continue to promote technically skilled people with no leadership ability, or take their human resources function to a new level by developing good leaders.
Although being a good boss comes naturally to some, others may need to be reminded to behave in a way that they would expect to be led themselves. The good news is that it is possible to train many of the important aspects of the job.
So are leaders born or made? It's a combination of the two. The first step in developing good leaders is for the company to send a clear message that they value their people too much to allow for bad bosses.
A concept called a 360-degree review allows employees to give feedback on how the boss is doing. As long as the company is large enough to get a fair and unbiased picture of how their employees rate their bosses' performance, this information can and should be used to target where a boss might be trained - areas such as listening skills and conflict resolution, for example.
It seems obvious - workers want a boss who gives them the right tools and removes their obstacles. This requires taking an interest in employees, and communicating with them.
Bosses who fall short of these simple goals need to have this brought to their attention - and it's up to the company to start that conversation.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/work_career/2011/03/18/2011-03-18_when_it_comes_to_being_a_good_boss_employees_say_being_nice_trumps_being_smart.html#ixzz1HMrOtFRp