This question has been rattling around in my head for years.
I’ve worked in some of the fastest paced companies you could ever imagine and a few that are so laid back they could be horizontal and during this time I’ve interacted with a myriad of people from all walks of life.
I’ve worked with some amazing talent and have met some friends for life but (as I’m sure everyone has) there were many people I just couldn’t seem to get on with, be it a clash of interests, personality or disagreement of ideas, however through all of this, my teams, colleagues and I have been a success so does it really matter if we don’t get on?
I’m a big fan of the psychology of communicating in the work place, it fascinates me that in all organisations we tend to get a hotchpotch of people all put into an office together and they are expected to gel immediately. As humans we tend to be better at getting along with possible threats or in some cases mates than the animal kingdom, however doesn’t it seem strange that we don’t get to know the people joining our organisations before we employ them? Think of the cost involved both in time, the sunk cost of the people recruiting internally and also if you use a specialist the real cost of the placement as well. Also the possible damage to the brand and strategy if you’ve employed a ‘wrong un’ from the start.
It’s difficult to change a complete personality (although we should expect adaption from all parties) so surely by understanding what makes an individual tick rather than just focussing on the skills on their CV against a job description is going to make a difference in the long run.
So I suppose the answer to my question is no, we don’t need to like each other to be successful but if we know the type of person we’re working with, especially the senior team and their traits, leadership styles, communication foibles and so on, wouldn’t our working life be just that bit easier.
Here’s the flashing red light part pointing you to the plug;
Why not try a different way of recruiting future colleagues and see how we can add real value to your business here
