If you were a popular kid in highschool, you must have attended your fair share of parties, been a member of various clubs and an active participant in every competition. Being popular must have added in you being a more likeable student overall.
In a professional environment, being likeable is somewhat similar to highschool with of course some traits being different. Here too, a likeable employee is considered to be a charming personality.
They get the opportunity and the exposure to work with the right mentor, get involved in an exciting project or at times, get a free pass on making a mistake. Hey, we don’t make the rules but favouritism does play a hand in a professional scene.
In other words, you can say being likeable can work in your career. People who are liked by everyone get more chances and opportunities than others.
However, studies have shown that in most businesses, one in five employees either hate or are jealous of their peers. And one in three people do not easily socialise with people outside their office.
Now the question is what qualities make an employee a favourite in their workplace.
The traits mentioned below will give you a clear understanding and insight on what an ideal well-liked employee is like.
Communication
Communication is an art which builds your image among colleagues. As it is, everyone can talk but doing it in an effective way is what makes you popular.
No matter whether it is written or verbal, communication plays a crucial role in making an impression. For example, if you get emails, try to reply as soon as possible even if you need to just acknowledge the information. Likewise, while you are writing a mail, try to write it in a concise, clear and proper format.
Speaking of oral communication, when you are in a face to face meeting, pay full attention to the speaker and then say your bit keeping what they have said in mind. Also, do not let your laptop or mobile phone distract you. Focus on what you are saying and whom you are addressing.
Give credit and praise people for their good deeds
The most-liked employee in an organisation is the one who congratulates their peers for a job well done and for achieving tasks that were difficult to accomplish.
They make people feel that their efforts have been noticed without overdoing it. Sharing happiness with your peers can bring you closer to them.
In the workplace, much of the work done is the collective efforts of all the members involved. An employee who gives credits to individual efforts put in by team members instead of glossing it over is much preferred by others. They acknowledge valuable contribution made by others even if the project was something that they did on their own.
Professionalism
There are many people in an organisation who become overwhelmed, upset, angry and end up overreacting in a bad situation but likeable people keep themselves calm, cool and collected. At such tasking times, one can easily determine how level-headed an employee actually is.
To get a better idea, consider yourself in the same situation. When you make a mistake, who would you prefer to go and talk to- the one who would lose his/her control and would yell at you or the one who would remain calm, listen to the reasons and suggest what to do next?
There could be several situations of varying magnitudes in a company that can put your temper to test. Some examples of this can be when the coffee machine runs out of coffee, or the printer runs out of ink and you have some important printouts to take, or when you are unable to find the tote box containing office files for an impending meeting. All such incidents are bound to put you on edge but how you react in such situations will speak volumes about you and your behaviour.
These are the main traits that will help you stand out from your colleagues and eventually place you high on the ladder of success
