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What Is Interpersonal Savvy?

Interpersonal savvy is your ability to build and maintain solid working relationships with colleagues, superiors, and direct reports. It’s a capacity made up of several interlocking skills, such as the following:

• good listening

• empathy

• honesty

• sincerity

• a strong orientation toward teamwork

• trustworthiness

• supportiveness

• a willingness to share responsibility

We all like to believe we possess these qualities, and everyone does have the capacity for interpersonal savvy. The challenge is building that capacity so others see that you have these qualities. You must be a good listener, an honest person, sincere, and trustworthy. This is especially important as you transition into positions of greater authority, where more people will look to you for leadership.

Daily behaviors shape people’s perceptions of you, and those perceptions determine their feelings about you. Interpersonal savvy allows you to better navigate and understand those perceptions and to build trust with your colleagues, which will in turn improve their (and your) efforts in the organization. This kind of open behavior toward others can be intimidating for you and your colleagues, which is why it’s even more important that you exhibit such behavior. Your example shows colleagues that your workplace is a safe place to be patient, honest, and straightforward when communicating.

Throughout this guidebook, we use the terms savvy, skills, and behaviors somewhat interchangeably, though technically these words have different definitions. We view these terms as linked: developing your interpersonal skills will lead to tangible behaviors that you can exhibit in the workplace, and continually exhibiting such behaviors will lead to an increase in your overall interpersonal savvy. Therefore, rather than focusing on the three terms as separate, we view them as interrelated aspects of an overall framework of interpersonal savvy and, consequently, use these terms as such throughout the guidebook.

Also, this guidebook will discuss how to change your behaviors to improve others’ perceptions of you, rather than focusing on changing any internal feelings or tendencies you may have. While a strong moral character is certainly important in succeeding as a leader, we seek a pragmatic approach by suggesting tangible, real-world skills you can implement to improve your interpersonal savvy. For instance, you may view yourself as shy and generally introverted, but implementing some of these interpersonal behaviors may result in others perceiving you as outgoing and a great communicator. This is not a deceptive tactic; if you exhibit positive interpersonal skills, others will perceive you as interpersonally savvy, regardless of whether you feel that you are. As stated above, perception is important, and we seek to help you develop skills that will provide real-world benefits in how you are viewed in the workplace.

Daily behaviors shape people’s perceptions of you, and those perceptions determine their feelings about you.