Question of the week 2: Gregarious

Hi and welcome! As you may already know, the Edit-Your-Work blog started last week its 'question of the week', which is meant to define a word each week through answering a question.

This week's question concerns the term gregarious:

Question: Does it take a gregarious person to be a businessman?

The term gregarious stands for an individual who is sociable and well liked by others. This may establish trust, where individuals open up to discuss about important matters. However, it may also mean that the gregarious individual loses track of the people he or she meets.

A businessman can have a whole range of roles, be it a salesperson, market researcher, management consultant, etcetera. In essence, it has to do with the managing of a company as well as the process of providing goods or services to customers, businesses, or governments.

Whilst being gregarious may lead to a social network that is beneficial to a company, and can create favoritism in biddings, it is not a necessary trait to conduct business. Some roles focus less on personal interaction, such as accounting, whereas human resources, marketing, and sales people thrive on it. Yet, a highly adaptable individual who can change a company based on market demands, but is not gregarious, can create better results.

In the end, it is the results and profitability that drive a company. This is not to say however that being sociable is unnecessary. A company is run by individuals, so being even a little gregarious can create a nicer and happier atmosphere.

In short: Being gregarious is not necessary to become a businessman, although it does help create a better atmosphere and a social network that may be beneficial to the company.

Have any opinions about this answer? Then please leave a comment!