People who are agreeable are generally pleasant to work with and tend to score high marks in displaying a positive attitude. In a workplace full of competition, it can be refreshing to be around those who are easy to get along with, minus the drama of conflict.
From a career point of view, being agreeable is a two-sided coin — while some may admire your kindhearted intentions, others may perceive you as someone who avoids confrontation.
Just as much as being too agreeable can be seen as negative, being too argumentative can have its downsides as well. Both lack negotiation skills in resolving conflict and neither one leads to promotions.
The road to a management position is filled with situations that call for confrontation and conflict. The challenge with being seen as too agreeable is that it diminishes your effectiveness as a future manager. Developing the skills needed for management requires holding others accountable and many times accountability is a far cry from being agreeable. Not only does being too agreeable hurt your chances for career growth, it costs you in terms of compensation.
According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, authors Beth Livingston, Timothy Judge and Charlice Hurst surveyed how being nice at work affects your success, your paycheck and how the effects of being nice differ for men and women.
The results confirm that being nice at work diminishes your compensation and decreases your chances of promotion. From a tangible side, both men and women who scored high on agreeableness made less money but rated their happiness at work higher than those who reflected a low score in agreeableness.
If you tend to lean toward being agreeable and desire career growth, the key is to strike a balance of remaining true to yourself while accepting that at times you will need to disagree. The art of maintaining balance in both agreeing and disagreeing takes stepping out of your comfort zones.
Here are some ways to help you question your “agreeable habit” and learn to disagree in a positive way.
When a disagreement arises focus on the solution instead of reacting to the person.
Prioritize your workload by identifying the most important tasks first before accepting new ones.
Stop your reaction time in agreeing and concentrate more on listening.
When colleagues ask for help consider sharing the requests with others. It’s easy to get in a habit of agreeing to help, instead let someone else take a turn to help.
Being stretched too thin is not a healthy way of life. Accept that you can’t be all things to all people and practice making time for yourself and family.
By always being agreeable you rob other people the chance to grow, saying no at times can be the most helpful response.
What do you like and dislike about people who are always agreeable?
