Author Post: Nice People Do Not Finish Last And Jerks Don’t Finish First: Lessons From Science

Media portrayals and reality TV shows seem to suggest that in order to succeed, we need to be aggressive, manipulative, and forceful. The current political climate certainly appears to reinforce this perspective.

It is not surprising then, that many executives wonder whether there is any point to being nice. In my executive coaching practice and conversations with many senior executives and CEOs, this question is constantly raised. Will people just take advantage of me? Will I lose the respect of my team? Won’t I get passed over by someone who doesn’t care about the people and focuses on results and self-promotion, regardless of the costs to the business?

While considerable past research counters this belief, two recent studies were especially thought-provoking given the nature of their design. In a paper that was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, two UC Berkeley researchers reported the results from two longitudinal studies that assessed undergraduates and MBA students to identify their personality profiles and then re-assessed the same students over a decade later to see how they were faring in their careers. This research design heightened the power and robustness of the findings, since the predictive link could be made more concretely over time.

The primary trait that the authors were interested in was disagreeableness, or “the tendency to behave in quarrelsome, cold, callous, and selfish ways. The researchers also noted that “Disagreeable people tend to be hostile and abusive to others, deceive and manipulate others for their own gain and ignore others’ concerns or welfare.”

Overall, there was no relationship between disagreeableness and positional power in the organization. What was especially interesting was that this trend held across gender, race, ethnicity, or industry, a development that was surprising to the researchers themselves. Even more unexpected, ‘acting like a jerk’ did not provide a competitive advantage in organizations where you think they would be best suited to excel – in ‘dog-eat-dog’ cultures.

Equally important, the authors point out, is the substantial evidence that when jerks are in power, they wreak havoc on an organization through abusive management practices, looking out for their individual needs before those of the organization, and by facilitating corruption, which often lead to significant underperformance and even survival risks for the company.

The second study enabled the authors to understand the reason for the principal finding. To accomplish this, the researchers looked at the four primary ways through which people obtain power: dominant-aggressive (e.g., relying on intimidation), political behavior (e.g., building strategic relationships with the ‘right people’), communal behavior (e.g., helping colleagues), and competent behavior (e.g., being skilled in your role).

While the jerks in the study engaged in more aggressive behavior, a potential hallmark for leadership, this ‘advantage’ was offset by their unwillingness to help and be kind to others.

How can organizations put this leadership science into practice?

1)  Before making a hire, conduct in depth psychometric assessments and conduct rigorous reference checks, which include specific questions designed to uncover any dominant-aggressive behaviors.

2)  When individuals act aggressively and solely from a place of self-interest, take immediate action and course correct. Otherwise, this may suggest these behaviors are appropriate in the organization.

3)  When it comes to promotion, fast-track individuals who do good to lead well. Prioritize individuals who utilize more positive forms of leadership. This does not mean being nice at the exclusion of obtaining results. The best leaders do both.

Organizations are searching for ways to survive and thrive in the world of COVID. In this heightened state of anxiety, toxic behaviors may be more likely to emerge than ever before. Recognizing the pitfalls and protecting our cultures against these assaults is key to a successful future.