Academic studies point out that there is a âcompensation effectâ between warmth and competence: people tend to assume that people who are warm are incompetent and those who are cold, competent.
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The study revealed that mistakes themselves are neither good nor bad. Their impact hinges on the broader context. When incompetent people made mistakes, it just reinforced otherâs already negative impressions. It was more of the same.
When competent people made mistakes, though, it had the opposite effect. Successful people are hard to identify with. They seem so perfect that itâs hard to connect. And thatâs why mistakes can help. Because when otherwise competent people make a mistake once in a while, it humanizes them. It makes them more real, which makes them more likable.
MONEYâS NOT ABOUT MONEY: Compensating people well demonstrates love and respect and ties them strongly to the goals of the company.
A coach coaches in the moment,â Scott Cook says. âItâs more real and more authentic, but so many leaders shy away from that.
This is critical for effective coaching; a good coach doesnât hide the stuff thatâs hard to talk aboutâin fact, a good coach will draw this out. He or she gets at the hard stuff.
Which means that you should lead with warmth, but know that you might have to work just a bit harder to build your reputation for competency.