Editor’s Note: Readers sometimes ask about past TLNT articles, so every Friday we republish a Classic TLNT post.
The old adage “I’d rather be respected, than liked” was made up by people who didn’t have any friends!
And, it’s been perpetuated for centuries by HR Pros who didn’t think it was professional to have friends in their organizations. “I’m not their friend, Tim. I’m in HR – there is a reason we lock the doors to our department.”
I look it this a bit differently – make friends first. That is all. No, “then” or “after that” – just make friends.
Do you know why HR Pros don’t make friends with employees? Yes you do, because “We don’t want to fire our friends!” or “We need to remain impartial” or “I’m stupid” (I made that last one up – which, if you’re stupid, you probably didn’t know).
The reality is that we do things attempting to stop stuff that probably will never happen. When is the last time you truly had to fire a friend? “Never – because I don’t have friends that work for me!” No really, when? Most of us would say, “Never.”
The problem with not allowing yourself to be friends with non-HR employees is that you lose a major source of influence within your organization. Also, it sucks eating at your desk every day. And, you decrease your eventual dating pool. But, really it’s the influence!
So, here are five (5) steps you can do to be more liked and make more friends at work:
Being liked in HR is important it allows you to do your job in a much more efficient manner than when people don’t want you around.
It’s not about respect – you can have both – and given the choice of having respect and being hated, or having respect and being liked, well, let’s just say I hang out with the smokers.
This originally appeared on the blog The Tim Sackett Project.