I found a very interesting article. Nice Guys Can Finish First: Your people skills become more important the higher you go — so behave yourself!
I’m sure we’ve all observed it, but the skills to lead in our current roles are different than the skills at our previous roles.
All other things being equal, your people skills (or lack thereof) become more pronounced the higher up you go.
Some of the people skills the authors list are
To be able to listen?
To give proper recognition?
To share — whether it’s information or credit for a success?
To stay calm when others panic?
To make midcourse corrections?
To accept responsibility?
To admit a mistake?
To defer to others, even (especially) those of lesser rank?
To let someone else be right some of the time?
To say thank you?
To resist playing favorites?
Some of these look like Philippians 2. Others like Ephesians 4, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 13.
A friend of mine is passed this list around to his co-workers, including direct reports, and asked them to grade him. He also graded me (unasked, but very welcome!).
Why don’t you do the same. Ask your co-workers to give you feedback in these areas.
Yes, people skills are very important, and yet I have to wonder why is it that some people are in those higher-up positions, and still do not have people skills? Seems like there are other ways to compensate for it, by being a strong public speaker or having charisma?