Being a better judge of people in no way means being judgmental. It means understanding where the person stands in terms of his (or her) attitude towards you, your company/business, towards his own life and towards the world in general. These traits will define the way you both work together towards your, and individual goals.
This Harvard Business Review blog lays down a few guidelines that can help you judge people better.
Although these guidelines are geared towards hiring people, they can be applied to every aspect of your life. It says that academic qualifications, although important, do not give you the entire picture. Just because a person comes highly educated from premier schools and colleges, doesn’t necessarily mean that he is also going to perform well at your place. Similarly, a well-qualified person doesn’t tantamount to a very high quality of relationship.
There are some traits in a person that are inherent. They are not taught, but they are acquired. You cannot have them unless you are receptive towards them. While judging a person you may keep the following in mind:
- Does he listen more or talks more? People who don’t listen properly don’t even understand. A quiet person doesn’t necessarily mean that he is under-confident, but yes, you should be able to express yourself clearly whenever there is a need. You shouldn’t rush to expressing your point simply because you are not ready to listen.
- Does this person give away positive energy or negative energy? A few days ago we wrote about how to keep toxic people away from your life. This is sort of same thing. There are some people who can sap your energy by continuously giving negative statements, either about themselves or about other things.
- Is he reactive or proactive? Some people always need to be prompted into taking an action. Some by nature take the initiative and do the needful. By the way the person talks, you can easily make that out.
- What does this person normally read? Reading may define how this person thinks and what are his or her values. I don’t mean to say that reading trashy material makes you immoral or unreliable, but this has generally been proven that people who read good literature have their values in the right place.
- What sort of history does that person carry? Has he been a fighter in his life? What sort of hardships has he gone through? The way we deal with our problems define who we are. Does he come from a rich, financially comfortable background or has he had to go through challenging times?