They Don't Like You: Can You Expect "A John Bolton"

 The headline in The Atlantic is "No One Likes John Bolton." 

That follows the early-morning raid on his home by the FBI about supposedly matters of national security. And doesn't all that seem, well, so incongruent, at least in civilized nations. After all, how citizens are officially treated by the system should be separate from being liked or not liked. For centuries the sophisticated have respected defense lawyers representing very unlikeable characters. In "The Godfather," Michael Corleone has mutated into a hardened thug but, sure, he deserves competent counsel. 

However, we all know better, don't we. Maybe the "unfriendly" Bolton got his. 

In the classic by Hedrick Smith "The Power Game," likeability is classified as a source of power.

Professional anonymous networks such as Reddit and Fishbowl warn how important being liked is in large law firms for very junior lawyers. Otherwise partners will probably not assign you work and you won't make your quota of billable hours. No bonus. Maybe no job.

On the Apple TV series "The Morning Show," anchor Alex Levy isn't liked. No one comes to her aid when it looks like her contract won't be renewed. To survive she seizes power. 

But, being liked doesn't guarantee insulation from how power can operate. 

From his early days as an intern at elite law firm Paul, Weiss Brad Karp was well liked, at least by those who mattered. In 2008 those who mattered voted him in as chair. He has been able to hold on to that job. But that didn't prevent the Trump administration from hitting Paul, Weiss with an Executive Order which could have put the law firm out of business. Bad things can happen to likeable people. 

On LinkedIn we bear witness more and more often to the realities that well-liked colleagues are losing their jobs. There are pleas to help them find new work. The dominant meme is: Everyone is expendable. Even those everyone loves to have around. 

For job interviews, I advise professionals to focus less on looping into the personality employers seem to want and more into the results you can get for them better, faster and cheaper than anyone else applying for the opportunity. 

In the make-believe world of "Law & Order SVU," flawed character Amada Rollins, played by Kelli Giddish, was well-liked. And it was primarily because of her vulnerabilities. But the series cut her out. 

So here we are. Yes, it's safer and could ensure more career upward mobility to be liked. But in this era when the rules are being blown up you need more than that to even hold on. Perhaps Levy from "The Morning Show" is the new role model: Seize control. Even those who assume they are nobodies can build a micro empire in which they make the rules. 

Thrown off your game, maybe the first time since you started working? You made all the right moves and then the world moved in another direction.

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