Guest Blog: 3 Traits of Employees You Need to Hire in 2014

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Michel Falcon talks about three traits employees should possess.  I really like number three, learning from those who come before us.  I have always had a strong belief about how important it is to have a mentor and later becoming a mentor. – Shep Hyken

I was extremely fortunate to work with such a great company that supported my growth both internally and externally. While at 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, I was able to find mentors that helped groom me which I believe expedited my professional development and set me up for success today.

Externally, I was given the opportunity to visit Zappos’ HQ in 2007 (before Zappos Insights existed and it became popular to do so) because I recognized I needed to be studying what they were doing so I could learn.

A large majority of employees ask, “What has my company done for me lately?” I believe that the onus is also on the individual to fuel their own growth and take the initiative to develop themselves. I believe that the following three characteristics are found in exceptional employees that go on to build companies that we admire and reach unprecedented career accomplishments.

1.       They take ownership of their own growth

I sat in a meeting one day and heard a manager say, “What is the company going to do this year to help us grow as employees?” While I believe the organization is also responsible for developing their people, employees need to take ownership of their own futures and stop relying on their bosses to single handily grow them.

Whether it’s finding a mentor or keeping up with the latest trends in their field, exceptional employees understand that combining the support they receive from their company and taking their own initiative will propel them to success.

“Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one’s potential.” – Bruce Lee

2.       They understand that working 40 hours a week is a minimum, not a maximum

Kobe Bryant has built a reputation of having an insane work ethic and Marissa Mayer would often sleep at her desk while at Google. On a more personal level, my friend Dave works his tail off (60 hours/week) in the finance industry and is undoubtedly going to achieve success. If operating efficiently, it becomes a simple numbers game, if you have more hours in the day to accomplish your goals you will achieve success faster and long term growth.

Am I suggesting that if you work 40 hours/week that you won’t be successful? No.

However, there is a common theme among employees that work beyond the minimum, they all appear to be successful. I don’t believe in the “work smarter, not harder” saying. I think you need to be doing both to achieve massive results. Of course, don’t let this be a detriment to the relationship you have with your family and friends.

“Work is the key to success, and hard work can help you accomplish anything.”  – Vince Lombardi

3.       They learn from those that have come before them

As a kid, I would play ice hockey pretending I was Steve Yzerman. I would study his every move and tried to replicate it while on the ice. Today is no different, from a far, I study Chip Conley, Jeff Bezos and Gary Vaynerchuk.

You are always a student, regardless of age or position, the day you stop learning is the day you start to die. All employees and entrepreneurs that want to accomplish big things need to learn from those that have come before them. By doing so, you can stop yourself from making the same mistakes and expedite the learning process.

Remember, a role model can also be a mentor. You may not have the face to face opportunity to be coached by them but if you follow them from a distance you can receive the same amount of value.

“If you want to successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.” – Anthony Robbins

Have you found other characteristics in current or past employees that went on to achieve great success?

Michel Falcon is a customer and employee experience coach and keynote speaker based in Vancouver, Canada. He works with organizations who want to develop strategies to strengthen their customer experience efforts and increase their revenue and profits. If you enjoyed this post, more of his thoughts and full bio can be found on his website www.michelfalcon.com.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com