Professional Employee Characteristics

                While it is important to have the necessary skills to perform a job, many hiring managers believe these skills are secondary when compared to a job candidate’s personality.  Hiring managers have discovered that skills needed on the job and knowledge about the industry can be taught, but changing an employee’s personality is next to impossible.  Because of this, employers are hiring based upon non-trainable qualities such as a job candidate’s honesty and work ethic.

                Honesty is essential to be considered a desirable employee.  Honest employees are willing to admit to their mistakes and shortcomings (Ingram).  Everything is not always going to work out perfectly when tried.  It is important for employees to own up to what goes wrong and have a willingness to learn from the experience.  Honest employees are more likely to engage in ethical behavior because they do not feel a need to cover up problems.  Engaging in dishonest, unethical behavior has the potential to lead the company into the ground which is why honesty is such a crucial characteristic.

                Another vital characteristic a potential employee must possess is a strong work ethic.  Employees with a strong work ethic are passionate, ambitious, and action-oriented (Sundheim, 2013).  Passionate employees have a strong desire to work hard because they love what they do.  Ambitious employees set lofty goals.  In order to achieve these, they must be creative and innovative in their thinking.  Once a creative solution has been brainstormed, the employee then takes action to implement it.  Employers desire hardworking employees who are determined to see themselves and the company succeed.

                By hiring employees with personalities that meet the “right fit” for the company, hiring managers are able to decrease turnover.  Employees who successfully demonstrate their honesty and strong work ethic are more likely to be hired and thrive in the workplace.

References

Ingram, D. (n.d.). The qualities of a good & professional employee. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/qualities-good-professional-employee-10963.html

Sundheim, K. (2013, April 02). 15 traits of the ideal employee. Forbes, Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensundheim/2013/04/02/15-traits-of-the-ideal-employee/

Three Cs of Building Effective Teams

                To ensure success in today’s workplace, building effective teams is essential.  Effective teams have clarity, competence, and commitment.  The purpose of the team and the role of team members must be clear in order to produce optimal results (Bakken).  Team members need to be chosen for their skills and abilities to perform, not their personalities (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993.  Goals cannot be met without the skills needed to achieve it.  Buy-in from team members is essential to show everyone is fully committed to producing the best results possible (Cook, 2014).  Without clarity, competence, and commitment, teams will fail.

                In order to be effective, teams must have clarity in their purpose and roles as team members (Bakken).  Teams may or may not reach their end goal if the purpose of the team is ambiguous.  Develop a clear purpose, and set clear goals to achieve the results desired.  Once the team’s purpose is clear, clarify each team member’s role in working to achieve this purpose (Bakken).  By developing clear roles, members know what they are supposed to do and become accountable for certain results.

                Teams also need competence.  This means team members need to be selected for their skills, not personality.  These skills are not only limited to technical skills but also include problem-solving, decision-making, and interpersonal skills (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993).  Technical skills are needed to ensure team goals are completed.  Problem-solving, decision-making, and interpersonal skills allow teams to complete them in the best possible manner.  Without such skills, a team will struggle in accomplishing its purpose.

                Commitment is needed to ensure every team member desires to see the team succeed.  To become more fully committed to producing results, team leaders need to establish buy-in from their team members (Cook).  This can be done by listening to and implementing ideas and feedback and creating a sense of fairness when making decisions. Team members feel a greater duty in pushing the team to success when they are personally invested in the results.

                Effective teams have clarity, competence, and commitment.  By establishing clear purposes and goals and developing role clarity, team members know what needs to be accomplished.  Competence is achieved when members are picked for their skillset and not solely their personality.  Buy-in from team members is essential for creating commitment.  By implementing these three Cs teams will have greater likelihood of success.

References

Bakken, E. (n.d.). Twelve ways to build an effective team. Retrieved from http://people.rice.edu
/uploadedFiles/People/TEAMS/Twelve Ways to Build an Effective Team.pdf

Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review, 162-171.