Traits Of Highly Successful Employees
No one gets a job or starts a business to be known amongst the dregs of the industry. Even while the organization is young or the employee is a newbie, they have heights they aspire to get to.
To become this highly successful employee, attaining that goal you have in mind, there are traits you should cultivate in yourself. When you look at the trait contained in this post, you should notice similarities with real people you know or look up to; men and women who are already considered successful in your line of work.
The list of traits that make up a successful employee is a very long one. We have gathered a few important points so buckle up as we look at what makes that minority who they are.
Characteristics of Highly Successful Employees
- They Refuse to be Intimidated: Though they were not always at the top, they did not always have much to their names yet they refused to be intimidated. They are the stubborn ones that keep pushing until they get heard. You have to be ready to grab opportunities that will come your way.
Do not let harsh working conditions, personal issues or an annoying superior make you give up. Refuse to cower. Go for what you want. A successful employee has a self-identity. You know who you are and where you’re going.
- The Desire To Improve/ Increase their Value: The difference between one employee and another is their level of value. This is what makes one indispensable to an organization and the other liability. Some people are so valuable, that they are scouted by other jobs while their current organization tries to keep them satisfied. Highly successful employees are never satisfied with their current level.
They seek to get better, learn more, get more skills, and upgrade their previous skills. It’s always more with them. The more value you can add to your person, the higher you’ll be able to climb. They are not lazy instead choose to go the extra mile.
- They are Good Managers: A manager is not one by title alone. Management is a skill, the ability to organize and take charge. Highly successful employees are good managers. They can manage their schedules to give them the best interests.
They manage their relationships, in the workplace and outside the workplace. They value relationships yet they don’t allow their social life to interrupt their workflow. The employee is able to set definite goals, define boundaries and create balance.
Managers take the initiative. They are the ones employees go to when problems arise. The managers fix these problems. Usually, in a group, you’ll find that one person that seems like they’ve got the answers to all problems.
You might be having a challenge but have the assurance that once you get to work or call Miss/Mr. A, surely, a solution will surface. That feeling is trust. When organizations find people like these, they don’t easily let them go, while they, keep climbing high. You can be that manager.
- Independent: If you always need supervision and promptings before you get a job done perfectly, you will not be able to go far. How will you be able to supervise others if you have not learned to do so for yourself? How will you be trusted with the fate of juniors if you still need to be followed up? Successful employees are independent employees.
- Creative and Innovative: Highly successful employees are at the top of their game. They find better ways of delivery. They refuse to be boxed knowing that creativity is the soul of many businesses. It touches all kinds of it. Doing the same thing differently, pushing your current level, a nod up. They don’t get tired of thinking, brainstorming, or getting better.
- Punctual: Right from when you were little, everyone told you how important being punctual was. It still is. Successful employees are strict with their time, they do not waste it or allow distractions. Irrespective of your excuse, always being late to work, to meet deadlines, submit assignments, or whatever does not look well on you. If anything, it earns you demerits instead of merits. It will also reflect on your performance review. It brings us to the next point.
- Time Management: A trait of a successful employee is the ability to manage time well. They recognize its importance and it helps them make the best use of it. They create schedules to help them produce the best results given their circumstances. They can be trusted to meet up.
- Volunteer: Successful employees don’t run from responsibilities. They volunteer first and never hide behind others. They take the initiative. They recognize these opportunities as a means to grow, to prove themselves. If you keep refusing extra work or responsibilities, it shows you may not be able to handle more than you have already on your plate which is a wrong message, seeing as you want to grow in your career.
- They Are Not Yes-Men: Volunteering for work does not mean kissing up to your boss either. If you have a different opinion about the way a decision should be handled or that was already made, then you should say it, and let it be known. Some boss kissers have been known to reach high places on the calendar but you can be sure that there will always be limited, never having real freedom.
Every sensible employer wants the best for their companies and will put people they can trust. If you were the owner of a company would you put your Yes-man in a position of influence because they make you feel good about yourself or the other employee that knows his onions? The employer surrounds himself with his team but his trust does not lie in the yes-man. The reason is simple, the yes-man has himself at heart but the other has the company at heart.
- Focused: As much as you know to invest in relationships and keep them alive, you must keep in the back of your mind the reason why you’re in the company. Don’t judge yourself by the abilities or inability of your colleagues. If they’re better, then push more, learn what they know, and get better. If you are better, it’s not a reason to slack.
Successful employees know they are first an individual before they are in a group run in groups. Some persons have gone into error with such mindsets and inherited wars that have nothing to do with them.
- Learn from Superiors: A successful employee can watch and learn from the background. You don’t have to wait until your superiors tell you a thing before you pick it up from them.
Watch them carefully, and ask questions. If that person is above you, then there must be something he does or did to get there. Get that in your pocket even before you are ever considered for a promotion. Inculcate it. Make it yours.
- They are Studious: This employee is smart. They spend time studying their environment. They know what skills they need to be valuable and build their knowledge in it. They do not wait to be pushed. They study people and know what makes them tick. They study their competition and enemies too. They don’t want to be caught unawares. They study themselves too, to know their strength and weaknesses. With this, they play on their strengths and manage their weaknesses. When an opportunity comes, you’ll notice how quickly they pounce, almost like they were waiting all along.
- Feedback: Growth does not happen in a day but is a process. A trait of a successful employee is the ability to embrace corrections and manage praises. They don’t let the praise get to their head, keep them from working harder but instead take it as a confirmation that they can do more.
When the correction comes, they don’t let it put them down but spur them on. These employees ask for sincere feedback themselves. They ask questions too, how else will they be able to study and learn from their superiors and colleagues. It is essential to their process.
- Integrity: A successful employee is steadfast to their chosen profession’s ethics and theirs too. They don’t look for shortcuts or how to break the codes in secret. They own up to errors and keep their way straight. This way no evil is waiting to be exposed or catch up to them in the future.
- More on Boundary: This is worth repeating. Successful employees are professionals. They don’t let the different aspects of their life infringe on another. They monitor that boundary and keep the line.
You could be personal friends with some colleagues, or superiors but you don’t let it be a reason to slack on your duties! Or behave in a questioning manner, like making noise during work hours, delegating the responsibilities they give you as secondary, leaving work without permission, or indecently touching them. It speaks badly of you and you won’t last.
- Teamwork: Successful employees know that relationship matters in this kind of race. They go to work every day gathering people of like passion and visions to themselves. They value people and invest in relationships. This teamwork may go beyond the organization itself to include the industry at large. They have a connection that makes their work easier for them. It also makes it easy to maintain the height of success when they get there.
Ever wondered why the successful ones look like they have the same people around them all the time? It’s their team.