Career Advice: Five Career Secrets to Becoming the Perfect Employee
That Everyone Wants – Part One
By Ed Sykes
With ever
increasing deadlines, decreasing resources, and changing workplaces, sometimes
it can be challenging to be a good employee, much less a perfect employee. The
employee who can rise above the everyday problems and embrace challenges will be
the person that every employer wants.
The
following are five career development secrets to being the perfect employee everyone wants:
-
Respect. Respect others with whom you work everyday.
What is respect? Respect comes in many different forms. The following are
just a few examples:
§ Respect
fellow employees as individuals with unique ideas and thoughts that may be
different from yours. This diversity of ideas may seem a little different at
first, but that is how we produce better solutions. “Group think” often gets
you nowhere fast. Embrace diversity of thought so that you are open minded for
better solutions.
§ Respect
fellow employees by greeting them in the morning. Many times I hear from
employees who say that certain co-workers make it unpleasant in the office
because they seldom say “Good Morning” or “Hello,” don’t smile, and are just
plain nasty to fellow co-workers. Take the time to give a pleasant greeting to
your co-workers even when you may be having a difficult time. You will be known
as someone who is pleasant to work with, and guess what; more opportunities will
come your way. Also, you can break out of a bad mood and become more productive
at work if you are pleasant to others.
§ Respect
the work of others. Appreciate the time and efforts of co-workers and let them
know. You may not agree on the final product, but you can respect the time and
effort put into the project.
§ Respect
others by practicing the Golden Rule…well sort of. The Golden Rule states “Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Well, there are many people,
because of their poor self-esteem, who like to be “dumped on” emotionally and
physically. If we follow the Golden Rule, does that mean that these same people
should “dump on” their fellow co-workers? Of course not! Treat your co-workers
with the utmost respect and appreciation they deserve.
-
Knowledge. Knowledge is the key. The workplace is
constantly changing. Even the look of change is changing. Also, change is
happening faster and faster. Just look around you in society, work, and
technology. The only way to master change is to gain the knowledge to be
ahead of change.
Take the time to learn not only about your present job, but also
about your future job opportunities. This will make you a more valuable
employee. Also, take time to learn about the job that is one level above your
present position. When this position becomes available, you will be in a better
position to receive a promotion.
Also take responsibility for your knowledge. Time and time again
I hear the following:
“Well, my company won’t pay for the class, so I’m not going to
take the class.”
I say to that, “Find the way to gain the knowledge!” There are
too many educational options not to have the knowledge. Whether you pay for it
yourself, receive online training, volunteer, etc., there are ways to receive
knowledge.
Remember, once you receive knowledge it is your knowledge
to take anywhere you go in life.
-
Communication.
Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Talking is one half of the
communication process. Listening is the other and sometimes the most
important part of the communication process. Listening means being open-mined
to new ideas.
Communication also means learning how to give and receive
feedback. Giving feedback means giving feedback that is honest and fair and
leaves the person wanting to do better. Receiving feedback means information
given to you, and it may include questions for clarity and understanding about
what needs to be done.
Communication is also good follow-up with employees and
management. Do you inform your managers or co-workers about the process or
changes in the project on which you are working?
-
Appreciation.
Appreciate to motivate others. Be accountable for your words. Once you
say something, it’s hard to take it back.
Show and give praise to others in the workplace. Work at finding
them doing something good and praise them (Read my article
Appreciate to
Motivate.). The more you do this, the more you will tear down
barriers and motivate others in the workplace.
-
Solutions.
Be a solution creator, not a problem dictator. Anyone can find
problems; but the employee who can find a problem or challenge and create a
solution is an employee that can write his/her own ticket for success.
Take it upon yourself to be a part of the solution and not a part of the
problem.
Ask yourself these questions:
§
What is
the positive that can come out of this challenge?
§
What will
I learn from this challenge?
§
What are
some solutions I can present?
§
How will I
present my solutions so that the organization sees the immediate benefits?
Apply
these career development techniques and you, too, will become the perfect employee
and enjoy career advancement.
Suggested reading:
Ten Quick Tips for Outstanding
Presentations
Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat" Will Help You Get
Your Point Across! (Yes you can, here's the plan!)
How to Set Boundaries and Say No
You Mean I Need to
Promote Myself to Get a Promotion? 5 Promotion Secrets to Get the Job You Want!
