In the heart of social media, particularly on the fast-paced platform of TikTok, a new theory has recently gone viral, claiming that nice people do not get promoted in their professional lives. These short-form video contents suggest that kindness somehow equates to weakness in the workplace and less assertiveness, thus ‒ reducing the chances of career advancement. However, industry experts have something different to say. They opine that being nice is not necessarily at odds with getting promoted. Rather, kindness can significantly enhance one’s leadership abilities and improve overall team collaboration and productivity in professional settings.
The root of the ‘nice people finish last’ belief probably stems from certain misconceptions about kindness in a highly competitive work environment. Many perceive kindness and assertiveness to be mutually exclusive, though this couldn’t be further from the truth. While some interpret being nice as inability to engage robustly in discussions or make hard decisions – essential requirements for professional advancement in many cases – leaders in the industry dispel these notions and rather speak of the various ways that kindness can indeed enhance one’s leadership profile.
Firstly, kindness fosters better working relationships. Nice people are usually more approachable and easy to get along with, encouraging a more harmonious and thriving working environment. This makes them efficient mediators and ultimately good team leaders who can solve conflicts satisfactorily and neutralize tensions. This fact gains more weight in the current remote-working scenario which demands a higher level of understanding and emotional intelligence, largely associated with being nice.
Moreover, kindness should not be mistaken for lack of assertiveness or intention. Nice people can be equally, if not more, driven to achieve their objectives. They just prefer doing it in a non-confrontational way that promotes collaboration and collective victory, as against stepping on others to get to the top. Good leaders use constructive criticism rather than stinging reprimands to bring about improvement, thereby achieving their professional objectives without breeding resentment.
Moving on, another critical factor is trust. Being agreeable and respectful helps build trust with co-workers and superiors which is crucial for career advancement. Trust cultivates loyalty and often results in increased productivity, two indispensable factors for any successful organization.
Contrary to the viral theory, a recent Harvard Business Review report even suggested that kindness is a definitive quality of successful leaders. The report showed that when leaders practiced kindness, employees felt seen and acknowledged, leading to a better work environment, stronger work performance, and increased job satisfaction.
Therefore, the viral TikTok theory suggesting that nice people do not get promoted appears to be more of a myth, based on stereotypes and misconceptions. The real-world work environment, and what experts have to say, seem to disagree with the theory. Rather, kindness is shown to be an indispensable quality that not only aids in forming reliable and trustworthy relationships but also enhances the overall productivity of a team. Consequently, being nice can indeed substantially increase one’s prospects of getting promoted. Hence, rather than dissuading people from being nice, the focus should be on building a professional environment where kindness is acknowledged and rewarded.
