Rita McGrath was quoted in this Chicago Tribune article about employee likeability:
“In general, empathy, connection, willingness to listen are all associated with likeability,” she summarizes. Gunther McGrath tells of a senior executive who received dreadful scores on the likeability/informality dimension of a 360-degree feedback and couldn’t understand why. After observing his patterns of interaction, he received two suggestions for simple changes in behavior. First, instead of following the same path to and from the office each day, vary it so that he would interact with more people and be personally visible to more people. Second, instead of eating lunch at his desk and working, make a point of eating in the cafeteria and being available to people.