What does it take to be an excellent employee?
Among other things, I lead a Business Intelligence team. Recently, one of my colleagues asked for guidance on how to be an excellent employee. None of this is rocket science or profound in any way but the question gave me pause and I thought I would share my response.
I think there are six behaviors that can help someone achieve recognition as an excellent employee. They are:
1. No surprises. It’s a lesson many of us learn the hard way. But it’s really simple. If there is a problem, let your manager know before someone else tells her/him. It’s even better if you have a solution but more on that in a moment.
2. Abandon any “9:00- 5:00” mentality. Excellent employees do the job – irrespective of how many hours it takes. Some days the work gets done in fewer than the traditional 8 hour day (Does anyone just work 8 hours/day any more?). It will take longer other times. I reward results and not how many hours someone works.
3. Anticipate the 2nd and 3rd order effects of a decision. If you can’t do that alone, engage someone to help you think it through. You’ll get a better solution.
4. Be solution-oriented. It’s OK to come to your manager with a problem. It’s great if you also come with an idea to solve the problem.
5. Ask for help. I know it can be hard to ask for help. But if we, as leaders, create an environment where it is OK to say “I need help” then we all benefit.
6. Be a lifetime learner. I think this is more true than ever in our new Corona reality. The world will be different. This is a terrific time to be thinking about what this new world will mean for your career and the capabilities you will need to thrive.
What do you think? What behaviors am I overlooking?
Great post Ken. I strongly believe that this is two way. In nutshell Employee needs to be Efficient and a Manager should turn into a leader. If this is achieved, it will be a win win situation for both. Inefficient employee does not deserve a leader and a narrow minded manager can suppress an efficient employee.
Good points, Ken. The only cautionary caveat I might add is that some employees do not have the flexibility to work longer hours, due to multiple jobs or caretaking responsibilities. I agree with Tricia, Lukasz, and Ben. I would also add engagement. Employees who are engaged are attentive to the needs of their business and work group and are often more adaptable to change. They are also more likely to proactively step up to support the team and ensure the successful achievement of business objectives.
Great list Ken- and I like the reference to "this is not rocket science"- these are all practical tips that we can weave into our daily routines; we just need to flex these muscles. The one behavioral trait I would add is showing empathy for your fellow colleagues; incorporate a human element into your interactions in addition to the professional collaboration.
Take out Employee and replace with Leader and what's the difference?
Very well captured! The one more aspect which I would add is to continuously build employee's own resilience and adaptability. When it comes to being resilient/adaptable it is not only the mindset. Certain behaviors bring them to life if they become a habit. Regarding that, I would add at least the following point to your list: interact with others with a strong mix of benevolence and patience, especially when somebody else, less qualified shares responsibility with you for a given task. I remember myself from a year ago, when in a situation of a stressful challenge I was rather impatient, nervous and eager to apply "command & control mode" making co-workers feel unsafe. Last year in May I had a deep internal dialogue about it. I was asking myself "Why couldn't you simply replace nervousness and impatience with benevolence?" The other inner voice replied: "Deadlines, timelines, customers - by being impatient, nervous (which is authentic and natural state of mind) I let everybody know that I care". When I have listened to it carefully and connected deeper with my feelings and thoughts I realized that it is a silly, exhausting and ineffective default mode of my brain. Then I decided to try acting in stress differently - with this patience/benevolence mix. It was not easy at the beginning to suppress conditioned reactions and reshape default mode into this new deliberative behavioral approach. Nevertheless, it helped me to improve my relationships - also with clients - through trust enhancement. I mean not only being benevolent to coworkers and clients but also to myself. Because of this shift, I found myself as a better employee - more sensitive, focused and resilient. Needless to mention that meeting you Ken Somers and learning from your way of interacting with people made me even stronger within this approach. Thank you for this article and for your inspiring presence in my life!