The nastiness of this year’s Presidential campaign is often excused by observing that “politics is a contact sport.” Plus, reality shows with the highest ratings seem to involve the nastiest people. Despite society’s current love affair with verbal thuggery, research proves you can win while being nice and you can disagree without being disagreeable.
Source: Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2016 (subscription required for online access, PDF available here)
Nice people, rejoice: Notwithstanding the prominent examples today in political and popular culture, the best available research still clearly shows that in everyday life the nice people, not the creeps, do the best at work, in love and in happiness.
INSIGHTS: Effective leaders in all walks of life respect other points of view, including those with which they may not agree. In turn, they are respected. Too many people today equate respect with agreement. Respecting another’s right to a different point of view than our own does not imply that we must sacrifice our own point of view.