Minerva Studio via iStock
When you have the opportunity to make a first impression, what impression do you try to make?
Add Insight
to your inbox.
We’ll send you one email a week with content you actually want to read, curated by the Insight team.
In business interactions, most people try—mistakenly, it turns out—to show how competent they are. Displaying competence is important, but the most helpful impression to leave is warmth. Conveying to others that you care about them opens the door to trust in ways that virtuosity and acumen do not.
Adam Waytz, an associate professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School, explains.
Col. John A. O’Grady, a military fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explains how balancing the dimensions of trust can have a profound impact on the successful resolutions of crises. He relates a time when a meeting with an Afghani governor was derailed by an extreme difficulty asking for directions.
The Trust Project is a unique body of knowledge, connecting scholars and executives from diverse backgrounds to share ideas, research, and actionable insights in a series of videos for research and management. Learn more about the project and its development in conjunction with the Kellogg Markets and Customers Initiative.
Suggested For You
Most Popular
Careers
Four Ways to Influence Your Bosses without Alienating Them
Here’s how to make your manager look good and become indispensable in the process.
Organizations
Worried Your Employees Are Slacking? Rethink How You Pay Them.
A new study reveals the optimal incentive system, and it’s surprisingly simple.
Careers
To Land Top Jobs, Women Need Different Types of Networks than Men
Simply being well-connected is not enough.
Marketing
How (Not) to Change Someone’s Mind
Psychologists have found two persuasion tactics that work. But put them together and the magic is lost.
Most Popular Podcasts
Careers
Podcast: Our Most Popular Advice on Improving Relationships with Colleagues
Coworkers can make us crazy. Here’s how to handle tough situations.
Social Impact
Podcast: How You and Your Company Can Lend Expertise to a Nonprofit in Need
Plus: Four questions to consider before becoming a social-impact entrepreneur.
Careers
Podcast: Attract Rockstar Employees—or Develop Your Own
Finding and nurturing high performers isn’t easy, but it pays off.
Marketing
Podcast: How Music Can Change Our Mood
A Broadway songwriter and a marketing professor discuss the connection between our favorite tunes and how they make us feel.
More in Strategy
