by Ron Venckus
Interpersonal Savvy

Interpersonal Savvy is a very interesting behavioral competency since it is complex to define. If that is true then it must be doubly difficult to sell this competency as part of your likeability factors during an interview.

Think about it; this skill is critical in an executive’s life as challenges are faced every day in every area of the business and that includes dealing with people-really, nothing happens without people. Interpersonal Savvy has been defined as having the ability to hear and understand the unspoken as well as the partially spoken thoughts, feelings, and concerns of others. Savvy is defined as having the ability to relate well to all kinds of people, even those with whom you may have difficulty working. Give this a moment of thought: the importance of relating to people in the company, with customers, with suppliers, in the home, and in the social setting. You must conclude that the behavioral competency of having Interpersonal Savvy is very critical to your success on the job and all other aspects of life.

Just as a reminder: when we speak of the behaviors we have covered in the Gladiator newsletters, we are not doing so to say that you must have a particular behavior to win. We do, however, want to raise the level of your awareness and spur your thinking on a topic to the point of being able to decide if you can effectively make a case for selling a particular behavior during an interview. No one possesses all of the competencies in equal strengths; some you will have a lot of, others you will have some of, and some will not be strengths for you. It all boils down to looking at your achievements and then applying to them the behaviors you used to enjoy the success.

My research on this behavior, Interpersonal Savvy, revealed a study that was done some years ago by the University of Pittsburgh. They surveyed corporate recruiters from companies totaling 50,000 employees. Communication skills, including written and oral presentations, were cited as the single most important factor in choosing managers, along with the ability to work with others. These were the keys to success. When thinking about this, please recognize that part of an executive’s job requires the ability to influence relationships; without this ability to influence, you cannot build rapport. As you think about communication, building rapport, Interpersonal Savvy you must consider your preconceived ideas about people-quick judgments of people’s motives take away the possibility of solving the problem.

To examine your work and personal makeup and to conclude that Interpersonal Savvy is a behavior that you could effectively sell to a prospective employer, consider the following:

  • Do you take a genuine interest in people?
  • Do you show empathy when dealing with others?
  • Do you focus on the positive?
  • Do you have a clear handle on your personal ethics?
  • What level of enthusiasm do you have in dealing with people?
  • Are you curious about people, who they are and how they think?
  • Can you see things from another’s point of view?
  • Do you match and mirror cues from others to show you are listening and to build rapport?
  • Are you able to take the initiative when working with poor behavior?
  • How about your eyes? Do you maintain effective eye contact to show you understand?
  • Are you able to give constructive feedback?
  • How well do you understand and use diplomacy and tact?
  • Can you diffuse high tension situations comfortably?

The successful executive must study people, but to do so effectively you must know your own behavior: strengths, weaknesses and personal beliefs. To have this quality, you must be able to demonstrate many, if not all, of the above thoughts in an interview presentation.

P.S: A 1927 study by the Harvard Business School concluded:

“Clearly, a management emphasis on customer relations and sensitivity to what customers want and expect requires considerable interpersonal skills from front-line employees at every level.”