This study, published in the Harvard Business Review on leadership, looked at what influences the choice of who people prefer to work with. One might reasonably assume that when looking for help with a challenge at work, people would immediately just turn to those best able to do the task. Right?

Actually, the dynamics are more complex. The researchers identified that there are two strong indicators - competence and likeability.

Archetypes of work partners

Drawing from their study of over 10,000 work relationships, the authors classified four archetypes across the matrix of competence and likeability.

1. the 'competent jerk', who knows a lot but is unpleasant
2. the 'loveable fool', who doesn't know much but is delightful
3. the 'loveable star', who is both competent and likeable
4. and then there's the 'incompetent jerk'!

It's no surprise that people most want to work with the 'likeable star' and nobody wants to associate with the 'incompetent jerk'!

But what happens when the choice is between the other two quadrants?

Feelings trump rathional thought

Even though respondents in the study were reluctant to admit it, in reality they prefer the 'loveable fool' to the 'competent jerk'. Out loud they said that skills and expertise are the most important determining factors and being 'nice' is an added bonus.

But in practice, the study showed that personal feelings about colleague play a more important role in forming work relationships than evaluation of their competence. "In fact, feelings worked as a gating factor: If someone is strongly disliked, it's almost irrelevant whether or not she is competent; people don't want to work with her anyway. By contrast, if someone is liked, his colleagues will seek out every little bit of competence he has to offer."

What are the implications?

Both of these types represent missed opportunities within organisations and teams:

Loveable fools can bridge gaps between diverse groups that might not otherwise have any useful interaction. They need to be valued for this skill and given roles that nurture this contribution.

On the other hand, with good coaching and skilled feedback, the 'competent jerk' can be helped to learn better communication and interpersonal skills; to understand and take responsibility for the effect they have on others.

"Someone who everyone likes actually does make the team more productive."