Most of us are taught to work hard to do well in school and then at work. If you study hard, you’ll land a good job and have a good life. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, am I right? Yeah, didn’t think so.
I remember when I was in college and I heard a phrase for the first time that made me rethink how people are successful. The phrase is, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Nowadays, you may hear more about this phrase through something called nepotism, which is when someone with power favors their friends, relatives, or associates, especially by giving them a job or position that they aren’t qualified for. *Cough, cough, in government and big business, cough.*
Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to have a rich uncle or influential cousin to be successful. But you do need to figure out how to connect with strangers. Here are five reasons why being social is more important than being smart.
1. Teamwork makes the dream work.
When analyzing available job postings online, at least half of said jobs will mention requiring teamwork to fulfill the role. Even as an isolated or remote worker, you will likely answer to at least one individual and often work as part of a group, branch, or department, requiring some sort of interaction with other people at work. You may also have customers or clients that will be reaching out to you about your work. No matter how you cut it, you need social skills to please those around you. If you don’t have them, word will get around that you are hard to work with or unpleasant, which can quickly land you at the bottom of the totem pole.
If you aren’t a people person or people pleaser, you may not like this point but don’t leave just yet. Think of it more as being respectful than anything else. You don’t need to be overly friendly or fake, just be direct, kind, and respectful. Some easy ways to do this is to start strong in a new position – or even afterward, as it’s better late than never – and start introducing yourself and getting to know those around you. Learn first names and remember small, easy facts. If Johnny mentions his kid starting college soon, follow up and ask if he’s chosen a university yet. Showing genuine interest is an easy way to get connected. You never know what opportunities Johnny may share with you and, even if he doesn’t, you’re at least learning more about who you’re working with.
By the way, teamwork makes this channel’s dream work too. Please subscribe and like to show your support! You know I appreciate you.
Check out: How to improve your social skills
2. More networking means more opportunities.
If you go straight from work to home and that’s where your career hours end, your opportunities are limited to your office. Let’s say that instead, you go to one or two networking events per month – that’s probably less time than you spend per week on Netflix, let’s be real. Just one networking event could connect you to some random professional on LinkedIn, who later posts a job opportunity, that you apply to and get, that changes the trajectory of your life. It happens more often than not. I’ll give you a great example of something wild that happened to me a few months back. I went to a networking event about real estate. I didn’t even own any real estate and I was new to the area but it was something I was interested in. I got there too early and was the first person at the venue. Some very fancily dressed man was the second to arrive, so I was forced to make small talk. Long story short, somehow, some way, we ended up finding out that we were very distantly related through my uncle by marriage. It was a crazy coincidence, especially since I just moved here from out of state. This guy then introduced me to another woman at the venue who offered me this small internship position to learn more about the local real estate market. What are the odds? So slim, but you’ll never get close if you never put yourself out there. You simply never know until you try!
3. Higher social intelligence means greater life satisfaction.
Social intelligence is closely related to emotional intelligence, or EQ for short. It’s about understanding and navigating social interactions successfully. These are the people who seem to be able to talk with anyone about anything and always keep the conversation comfortable and flowing. Having higher social and emotional intelligence has been correlated with higher life satisfaction and general well-being in various studies, and it isn’t a surprise since you’ll have better connections with others and less emotional stress.
By the way, we made another great post that talks about emotional intelligence, which I highly recommend. It’s called, “What the Heck is Emotional Intelligence?” Check it out after this if you want more info on the importance of social and emotional intelligence.
4. If you can’t lead, you’ll fall off the corporate ladder.
You may have the misconception that strong, serious leaders are usually the ones at the top. Now, there are definitely some people in leadership who shouldn’t be there, but that’s just life and a flawed system. Generally speaking, the people who are the most successful leaders are the ones who are smart combined with being socially adept. This comes from new research published by the Review of Economics and Statistics. Social adeptness means you can navigate different social interactions by having effective communication, empathy, and adaptability.
5. Social skills increase profits and might save your job from AI.
An interesting and recent conversation that we’ve seen across news companies and big thinkers is about AI taking our jobs. It’s no surprise that automation and AI will easily replace mundane, repetitive jobs, but what about those that require emotion and being social? Think about counseling, healthcare professionals, and workers like those in HR who need to understand complex employee relations and interpersonal dynamics. Not so easy to get AI to fill in for those. If your position allows you to thrive socially and make an impact, you are probably less likely to be replaced by automation – or by someone else for that matter.
Check out: How to quickly develop social skills as an introvert
Conclusion:
Smarts can come with a bit of studying, but social skills take some real emotional effort. The good thing is that both can be worked on and combined to make you one killer prospect in your field. Get yourself out there, get to know those around you, and never shy away from meeting someone new and telling them your goals. One conversation could change the rest of your life.