The Elite Edge: 🎯 The Courage to Be Disliked: Power, Perception & Playing the Long Game
Doing The Research For You.
Deepali Vyas
November 17, 2025
Elite Edge | Week 61
💬 Most professionals are trained to play for approval.
We’re told to be agreeable, diplomatic, and “good team players” — all admirable traits until they become leverage others can use.
The truth?
Likeability is the cheapest currency in corporate life.
The courage to be disliked isn’t rebellion — it’s restraint.
It’s the quiet strength to move with alignment instead of applause.
Because the people who truly rise don’t chase being liked — they chase being respected.
When you stop performing for approval, you stop being predictable.
And that’s when you become powerful.
⚖️ Corporate Truth
You don’t need everyone to like you. You just need to be someone they can’t dismiss.
♟️ This Week’s Deep Dive: Play Chess, Not Checkers
Checkers is reaction — fast moves, quick wins, constant motion.
Chess is strategy — patience, positioning, and precision.
Every career reaches a moment where you stop reacting and start orchestrating.
That shift happens when you no longer need validation to move forward.
Confidence isn’t about being agreeable — it’s about being anchored.
Anchored people don’t flinch when they’re misunderstood.
They don’t over-explain to be liked or negotiate their standards for comfort.
The paradox?
When you stop bending to be liked, people don’t like you less — they start respecting you more.
Because the moment you stop playing small to fit in, you become the standard others adjust to.
⚔️ Framework 1: The Power Posture Model™
A signature Elite Recruiter framework for embodying courage without arrogance.
Posture | Description | Risk | Power Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
Approval Posture | Moving for applause, explaining to be understood. | Burnout + predictability | Temporary validation |
Defensive Posture | Overcompensating when disliked — emotional reactivity. | Misinterpreted intent | Loss of influence |
Anchored Posture | Acting from clarity, not emotion — detached but not cold. | Misunderstood at first | Long-term credibility |
Strategic Posture | Using tension to create leverage and signal authority. | Perceived as “tough” | Earned respect + control of narrative |
💬 Corporate Truth: Likeability builds comfort. Boundaries build power.
🧭 Framework 2: The 3 Dimensions of Power Literacy
Learn to separate where approval gets weaponized.
Social Power — how you’re perceived (visibility, presence, tone)
Structural Power — your access to decision-making and proximity to influence
Psychological Power — your internal ability to hold your ground
🪞 If you can’t control the room, control your response.
💬 Corporate Truth: Power isn’t control over others — it’s command over your reactions.
🧩 Framework 3: Reframe — “Being Disliked” Isn’t a Reputation Problem, It’s a Resource Filter
You’re not losing favor — you’re filtering for alignment.
Being liked opens doors.
Being respected keeps them open.
Being disliked for the right reasons often signals you’re outgrowing the room.
💬 Corporate Truth: If everyone still likes you, you haven’t drawn real boundaries yet.
🧠 Elite Recruiter Script Variations: Future Drops
a) The Power of Strategic Indifference
You don’t have to care less — you just have to care differently.
The most respected people in corporate life don’t mirror everyone’s urgency — they model discernment.
That’s what makes their “yes” valuable and their silence powerful.
💬 Corporate Truth: Indifference isn’t cold — it’s controlled energy.
b) The Reputation Reframe
People spend their whole careers protecting a reputation instead of building character.
But when you’re anchored in who you are, your reputation becomes self-healing.
💬 Corporate Truth: Consistency beats consensus.
c) Approval Is the Enemy of Authority
The moment you start asking, “Will they like me?” you’ve already lost power.
True authority begins when you can stand by your decision without needing it to be popular.
💬 Corporate Truth: Approval is borrowed. Authority is built.
d) Likeability vs. Credibility
Likeability gets you invited. Credibility keeps you at the table.
The people who rise aren’t the most agreeable — they’re the most dependable under pressure.
💬 Corporate Truth: Stop auditioning for acceptance. Start positioning for impact.
🧰 Career Playbook Exercise: The Discomfort Audit
💡 “From Likeability to Leverage”
Take 10 minutes to reflect:
Where in your career are you still performing for approval?
What conversations do you avoid because you fear being disliked?
Whose opinion currently has disproportionate power over your decisions?
What would change if your goal shifted from being liked to being respected?
📚What I Read This Week…
🗞️ “2026 Graduates Face a Reality Check in the Job Market” — The Wall Street Journal
A sharp look at how next year’s college grads are entering a market defined by AI-driven hiring, cost-conscious employers, and a shift toward hybrid and contract work. The takeaway: career adaptability is the new GPA.
👉 Read here
🚗 “Ford CEO Jim Farley Says He Can’t Fill $120K Mechanic Jobs — ‘We’re in Trouble’” — New York Post
A wake-up call for America’s labor divide. While white-collar workers face AI anxiety, blue-collar industries can’t find skilled talent even at six-figure salaries. It’s a snapshot of the widening skill mismatch shaping the future of work.
👉 Read here
🎙️What I Listened to This Week… (Podcasts)
😂 Meme of the Week
Corporate Zen Mode Activated
When everyone’s losing their minds and you’ve mastered the art of not explaining yourself.
📬 Final Word
The courage to be disliked isn’t defiance — it’s discipline.
It’s how you build credibility that lasts beyond applause.
You’ve got the Edge. Now sharpen it.
Until next week,
— Deepali Vyas
Your Elite Recruiter
Doing the research so you don’t have to.
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💼 This Week’s Elite Job Drops 💼
💼 Exclusive Job Drops — Before They Hit the Market
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🔥 Elite Resources
Meet your new assistant (who happens to be AI).
Meet Skej — your new scheduling assistant. Whether it’s a coffee intro, a client check-in, or a last-minute reschedule, Skej is on it. Just CC Skej on your emails, and it takes care of everything: checking calendars, suggesting times, and sending out invites.
✨UPCOMING ANNOUNCEMENTS✨
As we close out the year, I’m giving back to the community that’s been riding with me all year. Here’s what’s coming…
✨ FREE 1:1 Coaching Sessions — I’m giving away THREE.
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Tag a friend, share this, and stay tuned.
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Career Q&A, mindset resets, power language, real talk…we’re doing it all LIVE.
I want you walking into 2026 with clarity, confidence, and fire.
📘 Playbook Giveaways.
Corporate power frameworks, worksheets, mindset tools — coming straight to you.
💼 NEW Resume + LinkedIn Rewrite Services.
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🌟 Personal Branding Sessions.
2026 is the year of the portfolio career — and I’m building a way for you to launch yours with authority.
Please give me a little grace as I expand my website and onboard elite-level coaches behind the scenes. I’m building this to help thousands of you transform your careers — not just dozens.
🔥 Big things coming. Stay close.
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