Effective Employee

As a manager, I looked for particular characteristics in an employee.

I've read over a thousand resumes, written dozens for myself and others, done a fair number of interviews, and hired a few people in my time.

I want someone who takes ownership.

Ownership means that someone will take a project, task, or goal and work with it from "the cradle to the grave." Ownership means that a person takes personal responsibility to get the job done. If you can't do it yourself, you find someone who can and get them to do it. If you don't know how to do it, find someone to tell you how to do it, or do the research to find out how to do it, and then do it.

A person who takes ownership gets things done. They get things done right. They get things done while exercising care and concern for others.

People who take ownership:

don't come back with excuses, they come back with results.
find a way to work around others who do not.
actually finish what they start.
think about how to do the job right.
work with others to achieve goals, but take responsibility for themselves.
believe that anything can be accomplished with enough time and money, but do their best to save the time and money.
start tasks and projects when they should.
are focused on what they are doing and don't keep "wandering off".
keep others informed.
are annoyingly persistent.
can be trusted.

Can you think of a few other properties yourself?

Here are other properties I looked for in an employee:

Integrity

Reliability

Competence

Confidence without arrogance

Perspicuity (look it up!)

Assertive

Appropriately Cooperative

Employs Humor

Has Communications Skills

   Is Focused

   Organized

Responsible (admits and corrects mistakes)

Committed

Has good business sense

Does not deviate from appropriate priorities

Has Balance

Has appropriate customer orientation

Has currency--keeps up with technology and embraces it appropriately as another tool, not an end in itself

   Has potential

Is responsible

Can disagree without being disagreeable

Actually cares about the work

Wants a job, not just a position

Some of these attributes may discerned through a structured interview, but I check references carefully, do background checks for financial stability, education, and criminal records, AND do the drug testing!

I expect an employee to be able to disagree with me, especially to keep things "on the straight and narrow", but not continuously.

You may not think that anyone could achieve this, but at this writing, I work with at least two people like this. They are the best, they have spoiled me, and I don't want to return to working with the other kind of people. Ever.

If you aren't there yet, consider this as a worthwhile pursuit to achieve a state of being.