The Likeability Factor

Why Some Employees Get Promoted Over Others: Addressing the Likeability Factor

Written by John Atherton

Receiving recognition for the work you put in can be a reward in and of itself. But when that acknowledgement comes in the form of a compliment, paper certificate, or email blast to your colleagues, it can feel like a drop in the bucket of what you actually deserve.

Let’s say six months later, promotions are brought up again and this time have a list of met goals, tasks you excelled at, plans for future growth, and it did nothing but achieve the same result: a high five and a pat on the back. Because what you want inside and what your supervisor sees outside isn’t in alignment.

At any point in your career and in any industry, notice the pattern that emerges amongst your colleagues receiving promotions. They don’t work as consistently as you. They don’t deliver the same results as you. They don’t put in the time that you do—crushing assignments, never having any issues with performance, bending over backwards to achieve ultimate customer service—and yet that coworker you haven’t seen come into the office since 2020 climbs another rung on the corporate ladder.

So, what is the metric is used to promote people? What’s the criteria? Clearly, it’s not productivity. Or office attendance. The metric used to promote employees is dependent on their ability to be liked. It’s people skills. Or soft skills, as they’re referred to these days.

Likeability Explained

Work horses are overlooked (just looked at any jammed freeway). Work horses keep their heads down, and underachievers take center stage as powerhouses.

I reached out to a handful of connections to get their take on this issue and one of the people I spoke with said, “It started to become a joke among my peers that saw the same thing. We told each other that it seemed like if you walked by our president’s office five times, you would get a promotion.” Which isn’t a new tactic. Politicians have focused on being likeable for as long as there have been elections. Some might refer to this as the “good ol’ boys” club. How likeable you are ties into how credible you seem.

Bu if underachievers receive promotions, then promotions are a social achievement making it a learned behavior that can be taught.

Creating Relevance

You might be asking yourself, ‘why do I need to do anything different? My work product speaks for itself, and I’m more credible than most of the people I work with.’

Let me respond to that: No, your productivity does not speak for itself, especially if you’re a manager. If you are not being noticed, there is a problem; you are no longer relevant to the conversation when promotions, special assignments, or growth of the organization is being discussed.??

People receiving promotions do more than just their work. Take a measure of the people in your organization. If you have LinkedIn, look at their posting habits, who and what they’re promoting. Being good at your job is a recipe for doing the same job an insane amount of time. You need to be noticed, and it needs to be in a way that builds a narrative for you to land the next promotion.?

Personal Branding

Think about your day-to-day activities and the touch points you have with the decision makers, the promoters, of your career. Is it once a week in a zoom meeting or large conference room with an agenda. Either of these situations will not allow for the kind over recognition that brings you out of the shadows. What about the opportunities that you do have in the office, at the coffee bar, or in the work kitchen? Do you take advantage of those moments?

You should, if you’re not already. Remember the old saying by Seneca, “Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.” Opportunities will come faster than you know, so prepare in advance.?

What is your brand story? Who are you? What do you do? Think of yourself as both product and marketer. What is unique about you and that only you can bring to the table? Reflect on these questions and be able to answer them concisely.

Most television commercials are 30 seconds long. Thirty seconds. Commercials cast a hook, set the line, and reel in their audience in this short span of time. If you cannot tell someone in 30 seconds something amazing about you, something that sparks curiosity, creates intrigue, you’ll get released back into the pond.

This isn’t about attention seeking. It’s about opportunity seeking. And most opportunities come by casting a wide net.

Network Expansion

Build your likeability and advance your career by creating a network of powerhouses within your circle of influence. Find an advocate. This person should be someone in the ranks of where you want to get to or higher. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that your work product will speak for itself. It won’t.

Find someone in a senior level management position who you can speak to openly about your career and where you would like to be in the future. They can provide informal mentorship for you, as well as guidance in what you should work on towards those goals. This person has a seat at the table and entrance to closed rooms that will only benefit getting your name out there to other decision makers and help build your brand.?

Cultivate Memorable Moments

Find common interests that will help build professional relationships and open future conversations from being only about work. Developing professional relationships lays the foundation of respect and name recognition you will build on.?

Learn some work appropriate jokes or memorable one-liners. You don’t have to be a great storyteller, but you can develop the skill. People will remember this about you and attach your name to a positive interaction. Build on that rapport with your peers wherever and whenever you have a chance.?

Every company puts on or sponsors extracurricular activities. This might be happy hour, going to a game—some kind of after work team building event. Here is another moment to shine. While amongst your peers, and even the occasional executive that comes out to support, take advantage of the casual environment. Remember: your day-to-day team knows you. Your direct reports might know you, but you are building a brand that is unknown to the rest of the company.

Serve and Support Others

Being a team player can also create your brand. Jump in to support your team and your peers within and outside your circle. Think of your favorite athletes. They acknowledge wins for the team, not just themselves. Kobe Bryant said the “important thing is your teammates have to know that you’re pulling for them, that you want them to be successful.” When your team believes you are there for them and their individual success, you have a powerful group of advocates that will do more for building you up than anything else you can do.?

Another element you can utilize lies within business development. This is probably not your core responsibility, but advancing the interest of the company and being good at it will get you noticed. Business has two primary responsibilities: serving the clients and serving the people that run the company. If you use opportunities to promote growth of your organization, you not only will achieve financial success for the business but will increase your network external to the company to take your personal brand farther.

Protecting Your Brand

While developing your personal brand and establishing a name for yourself, avoid things with the potential to damage the work you’ve put in. Do not get caught in negative talk about the people you work with, the company you work for, and certainly about the people running the company. If you’re around people that start any of this negative talk, walk away. Find an excuse and walk away.

Keep your side of the street clean so you’re not swept up in any group openly doing this. And if you already practice brand-harming behaviors, consider implementing damage control as quickly as possible. Create mitigation measures to protect yourself in any given situation. Albert Einstein said, “Avoid negative people, they have a problem for every solution.”?

Above everything else, protect your likeability while remaining sincere. Coworkers, colleagues, and connections can sniff out synthetic personas like sharks smelling blood. Authenticity comes from knowing who you are and openly sharing yourself with others.

As you focus on improving your likeability factor each day, your accomplishments will step out of the shadows. Fortify your network of advocates, lose yourself in the service of others, and track your successes along the way to write the narrative of you. You get a new chance every single day to break the barriers preventing your professional development. Armed with memorable moments and a shield against your personal brand, your next promotion is guaranteed to be more than a pat on the back. Just be sure you’ve got the likeability factor.