| July 31, 2009 | Posted By: Trevor Wilson | Category: Preparation |
When I started University, my faculty passed out a sheet of paper to all of the students that contained a set of 10 rules for being successful in the business world. And while I have long since lost the sheet, there is one rule I remember very clearly:
It’s better to be respected than liked.
While this made some sense to me at the time, I have only recently started to appreciate exactly what it means for your career. Now that I have been in the corporate world for a few years, it has become easier to see the link between how people view you and your career advancement.
There are many ways/reasons for people to like you. You could:
But ultimately, being liked in itself will not advance your career. Do to this, you need to be respected. And in my opinion, there are only two ways to gain the respect of others:
Without gaining the respect of others, you cannot expect to move up within an organization. The reason for this is that decisions on promotions are rarely made in a vacuum. Your boss may think that you are a nice person and want to promote you, but unless you have gained the respect of the majority of the decision makers (including your boss), it will not happen.
This is not to say that you don’t need to be liked. In fact, it is incredibly important to be both liked AND respected. Being liked can often make the difference in a competition between two well respected employees. However, without having the respect of your peers and superiors, you will never be given that opportunity.
So once you land the Entry Level Job of your dreams, remember that in order to get ahead, you need to gain the respect of those around you. You can do this with a strong work ethic and sound decision making skills. Without respect, you will find your career path more challenging.
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I like this quote and definately agree with it. Respect is defiantely an important quality for a young professional to gain. An important point to remember is that respect isn’t quickly gained, but can be quickly lost.
Glad you liked it. I do my best to live by this rule, making sure that I don’t alienate people in the process.
Hard work and a positive attitude can go a long way towards earning someone’s respect.
Thanks for the comment!