Maintenance Required

OH YOU GUYS, my judger is broken. Is there, like, a belt that starts to slip after one passes too many judgments in a row? Or a version of WD-40 that a person could squirt into one ear to loosen up the judgment lock that's currently happening inside my head?

I have two judgment-intensive service commitments this winter. One committee met today to make its final decisions, and the other committee has a big deadline tomorrow in preparation for Friday deliberations. And I...just...can't make any more judgments tonight. I was trying to do something that's usually easy and objective -- assigning a score to an applicant's letters of recommendation -- when something seized up inside my brain.

Have you ever been running when something started to twinge a bit, but you figured you could just run through it? Yes? Have you ever been running when all of a sudden your body said NOPE NO MORE? This was a NOPE NO MORE moment, only in my brain instead of my knee.

So I am going to start the dishwasher, which requires only that I judge between the normal cycle and the light cycle, and put on my pajamas, which requires only that I decide on pink fleece vs. purple thermal. Wait, this freakishly warm weather does open the alternative of cute floral print. No. Better to roast than to make more decisions. Holy cow, I hope my brain is recovered when the alarm goes off. I'm going to need it to work really fast in the morning.

Wait again, I actually had a question that got buried in my pile of complaints. It is this: how important is it to like a candidate for a position? Know what I mean? If someone is interviewing for a position at your workplace, how heavily does likability get weighted when competence is roughly equivalent across candidates? And how important should likable be as a qualification? 

Huh, I think when my judger returns it will have something to say about the phrase "how heavily does likability get weighted," but unfortunately for you all it's out of commission.

Comments

[Celeste]

if you can't find likeable and knowledgeable in the same person, pick likeable and train them. You cannot teach likeability. Temperament doesn't budge.

[L - Mama(e) in Translation]

Oh dear, I TOTALLY don't envy you and my husband, for that matter, with all the judging in all these committees (SO MANY double letters!! difficult for a foreigner)

OK, I hope you judger is repaired and working soon or, that you get a respite from all the judging!

Maybe likability is important? Don't know. I think my hubby would say yes.

[Sarah]

Celeste makes a good point!

[Zagorka]

As Celeste said: Likability cannot be teached and is absolutely vital for a well functioning work enwironment. Non-likability takes its toll on everybody else...
...see the person you talked of in "Second chances"

[el-e-e]

Oh, I agree with Celeste. Likability is of utmost importance!

[mary d]

For you, likeability is a MUST -- you're stuck with them for the next 40 years or whatever, thanks to the tenure system. Out in the wild, you can always hope someone will find another job or get fired or whatever, but you're stuck together until you retire, so you'd better pick someone you like.

[Jody]

So I was all set 100% to tell stories about how important likeanolity is, and about how having super-likeae colleagues has made me feel much better about a job whose actual conditions (of pay, time, and labor intensiveness) are starting to defeat me...

When I remembered reading somewhere, a long time ago, that likeability was one of the unconscious drivers of bias in hiring. And I think it was even a sharp critique of academics who hire, who have generally received no training in that skill, and so are more vulnerable to letting vague sorts of ideas about how someone "will fit into our department culture" lead them to dismiss people whose culturally inflected manners of self-presentation come off as unlikeable.

SO. I guess I still think likeability counts, but ... maybe be aware of where general ideas about the concept shade into unconscious bias?

[Jody]

Sigh. commenting on a phone is its own special typing hell.

[Pippi]

I guess it depends on what you mean by likability. If you mean can work respectfully with others, can contribute meaningfully to a team, and is generally not a sociopath then likability is vital. In fact, it's more important than many other aspects. If likability means being a kindred spirit I would say it's less important as you're looking for a competent colleague and not a best friend.

Here's hoping that a good night's sleep rids you of your decision fatigue and puts your judger back in working order :)

[Erica]

I'm just here to say that I second Pippi's comment. Competent colleague is the goal. If you're looking at a position more like an assistant or secretary (a job where many people posses the knowledge to do it efficiently) likability scores a little higher.

[Tracy]

I asked K his opinion of this, since he is also in the academic world. He said, likeability is important. In his field, you have to get grants, and being likeable isn't just about co-workers but about getting research money from other people. Competence is the first goal, but likeability is a plus. If that makes sense?