Cher Forman
"Ask Cher"
Cher Forman has over 20 years of domestic and international Human Resources experience in organizations ranging from startups to $3B. As Director or Vice President, she has managed Human Resources groups at Applied Materials, Stanford Telecom, Ask Computer Systems, Teledex and Tri-Data Corporation and consulted on H.R. philosophy, values and infrastructure with many start-ups as well. Cher has managed several of these firms through rapid expansion and significant organizational challenges. While at Applied Materials, she led her business unit as the company grew from 6,000 to 16,000 employees in three years. Ms. Forman has specific expertise in employment, corporate legal compliance, development of cost effective compensation/benefit strategies, organization development and international HR management. She has a degree in Organization Behavior from the University of San Francisco and has participated in advanced training at several other colleges and universities.
Dear Cher:
This may sound like a stupid question. After all, you are a Human Resources Executive. And being more “likeable” sounds like a Human Resources kind of idea. But, what do you think about this article?Title: How to be more likeable. 10 things to do today.
http://www.careerealism.com/likeable-10-today/?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Burke
Answer:
Hi Burke:
Easy question. This is a great article; straightforward, easy to read and makes a lot of sense.
It’s really a coaching session on how to be the kind of person everyone would like to work with or have as a Manager. It doesn’t say you need to give up your opinions to keep the peace if others don’t agree with you. But it does say to give your opinion in a non-bullying, not an “I believe it, so it must be true” kind of way. Be flexible and tactful.
It advises that when things go wrong, don’t be the one who wrings his hands moaning “Oh no!”, or the one who is immediately looking for the culprit. If you’ve been working with people long enough, you already know most problems are just another glitch to be figured out. By your getting straight to the place of looking for answers, and not giving in to others’ histrionics or disaster “What ifs”, you’ll let colleagues know it can be handled, and doesn’t merit taking a lot of time looking at the worst possible scenario. Now some people will say that takes all of the fun out of mistakes. If the fun is casting blame and raising your voice, then it may be true for you, but, believe me, that is not the sign of a “likeable” employee or colleague.
As I read the article, I noticed a synchronicity between the author’s description of “ likeability” and the current behavioral concept known as “emotional intelligence”. The behaviors ascribed by experts to be common in likeable employees and leaders, and the traits that motivate innovation in the workplace per the emotional intelligence studies, have some similarity at their roots. To me, both are based on common sense and genuine regard for others.
My thought is, if you take the article, and flex the advice so it can work for you, you will have completed the behavioral groundwork for a successful career.
To learn more about the concept of emotional intelligence read the following: http://www.answers.com/topic/intelligence-emotional-intelligence. This is just one of many pieces and studies regarding emotional intelligence.
Best, Cher
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