While it can sometimes be a difficult task to quantify what makes an individual successful, as employers seek to hire more talented and success driven individuals, this is the first thing that they should seek to do in their executive search and hiring strategies. Though an individual’s role may vary widely based on their position in the organization and the industry in which they are working, there are still those universal points that make certain individuals stand out in the crowd and show that they can go above and beyond to get the job done, and it is these traits that employers will need to become familiar with if they are to find those most valuable candidates.
To aid in this effort, the recruitment professionals at executive search firms have brought together this solid list of ten of those traits which have most commonly shown themselves to define what it means for an individual to be a great employee.
- Where once upon a time a good leader might have been defined as someone who gave an order and their subordinates immediately stepped to, this notion of leadership is now nothing more than an outdated ideal. These days the role of the subordinate has become one of even greater responsibility as effective leaders have proven themselves to be those who are more open in their communications and rely on their subordinates to come to them with new ideas, concerns, and suggestions. In essence, a good follower is now defined as someone who is willing to step up with their ideas rather than falling in line.
- Great employees are those who are capable of leading themselves, who do not wait around to be given a job to do but instead take the initiative to identify an issue, outline how this matter should best be addressed, and then bring the matter to their boss before even they have had an opportunity to bring it up.
- Truly effective followers are also those who are able to be taught, who are open to taking notes and learning from those around them. This can be as simple an issue as picking up small tips and tricks to make certain processes more efficient, but this can also translate into larger scale subjects as well. Employees who demonstrate this ability are essentially showing that they are capable of growth and that they have the potential for further development and success.
- As a bit of an extension to the second point, great employees are those who are able to predict the needs of their bosses and the company as a whole and are able to recognize and handle these matters quickly and efficiently. This level of efficiency can make such individuals invaluable to an organization as it denotes a level of foresight and motivation which sets them apart.
- While we tend to speak of how bosses need to be effective managers, this is true of their employees as well. For example, as leaders already have enough to worry about and deal with, they should not have to take time to ask after the status of work being done by their employees. Great employees are those who keep up effective communications so that their bosses always know the state of things without ever having to ask.
Six more identifying qualities of great employees can be found in the second half of this article.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
