Leadership | Life
One of the Most Valuable Lessons Learned during a 40+ Year Career
What does it take to become one of the very best employees?
In the end, what makes a business is its people. Without good people, a business will not last. Being a lifelong learner with a track record of running several companies for more than 40 years teaches you many things. I want to share one of the more important with you today. Let’s look at the question, “What makes an employee practically indispensable?”
Anyone working in or running an organization knows how important good employees are to the business. What is it that makes these good employees so unique?
Let’s look at some objective and subjective criteria to understand what it takes to be a standout employee. We will break employees into two types, those in non-supervisory roles and those who manage people and the organization.
Non-supervisory roles
Let’s look at a fictional employee. The first attribute desired for any employee is dependability. Without dependability, failure of the employee and/or the business naturally results. To become as valuable as possible to those you work for, start with being completely dependable.
“The greatest ability is dependability.” Bob Jones
Add to dependability diligence, and you have an even more valuable employee. While showing up is important, a diligent employee adds real value through careful, persistent hard work. With dependability and diligence, you have two traits that make an employee worth their salt.
“Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.” Samuel Johnson
Everyone likes to be around others who possess a good attitude. Those with a good attitude tend to outperform those with a poor attitude, but not always. They are certainly more pleasant to be around. When you add a good attitude to dependability and diligence, your value as an employee increases even further.
“Excellence is not a skill, it’s an attitude.” Ralph Marston
Adding a fourth attribute to this fictional employee will make them more valuable still. What attribute is that? It is simply known as the ability to get along well with others. While this may sound in some ways like a good attitude, it goes beyond that.
An employee can be dependable, diligent, and possess a good attitude yet still fail because of their inability to work with and inspire others. If you are in management, you don’t want to have to babysit anyone. The ability to get along well with others brings a greater level of maturity and good habits than attitude alone. These are those you can turn your back on and know they will do a great job.
To develop the ability to get along with others requires a person of integrity, honesty, trust, humbleness, and sound character. As one of the most successful and wealthiest people in history once pointed out:
“The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.” John D. Rockefeller
When you strongly possess these four attributes, you are far more valuable than the typical employee. Not only will you be highly productive, but you will inspire those around you to be more productive as well.
Let’s do a subjective measurement of you or an employee you are thinking of as you read this. Rate each of the following attributes on a scale of 1 to 10, using one as the lowest or weakest and ten as thig highest or strongest rating.
Name _________________________
- Dependability rating __________
- Diligence rating __________
- Attitude rating __________
- Ability to get along rating __________
Total __________
The perfect employee would naturally rate at 40. Where do you rate yourself?
Anything more than 35 is an excellent employee, worth more than an average salary. They are the keepers who make the organization effective and efficient.
Anything between 25 to 35 may be worth their pay so long as no one number drops below 6.
Those below 25 are merely adequate at best and certainly not worth as much as those who rate higher. Any area that rates less than 6 requires immediate attention. If the employee can’t improve, you may want to consider replacing them.
Please note, this is a subjective, common sense rating. It is not a formal, scientific method. I have used it over the years to help identify those who worked for me to improve. When someone could not improve over a quarter or two, I would consider replacing them.
I need to insert a disclaimer here:
Your HR department will likely disagree with this process, and it will not stand up in court should you use it. If you use my commonsense approach, you assume full responsibility for doing so!
I have found those who rate lower on this subjective scale barely perform adequately and often drag down productivity. Those with higher ratings will keep the lower-rated people from destroying efficiency and effectiveness. When you turn enough poor performers into decent performers, the organization will run like clockwork.
Management
Because management affects other people, they require additional attributes in addition to the four. The first of these attributes lies mainly in their ability to delegate effectively. Of course, they must maintain high levels of dependability, diligence, attitude, and the ability to get along with others. A manager who possesses the first four attributes and delegates effectively will far outperform one who does not. A manager who delegates well and does not micromanage will run a much more fluid operation, and their people will experience less stress and be more effective.
“If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” John C. Maxwell
Another attribute to consider for managers and supervisors is their ability to inspire. This is simpler than it sounds. While most people would like more money and bonuses, that is not what will make them loyal and hard workers. Numerous studies show that when employees are appreciated, they outperform those who are not. They enjoy working more, and that enjoyment translates into increased effectiveness and efficiency on the job. A pat on the back for most of us is often better than a raise!
“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Lastly, I found the best way to become practically indispensable to any employer is to attempt to work your way out of the job. You do this by making sure everything runs as smoothly without you as it does with you. While this may sound counter-intuitive, it works and works exceptionally well.
Work to become this type of person, serving those who work for you so well they work hard for you in return. By doing so, you will position yourself so strongly in the company they know they will miss you and suffer without your leadership. When you accomplish this level, you will not only love your work, company, people, and products, but you will find more joy in life than you could ever imagine.
“Being a part of success is more important than being personally indispensable.” Pat Riley
Final words
When you mature as an employee or as a manager, you will find life is more than just about you and your needs. When you grow to the point that you act responsibly and develop that most important skill of getting along with others, everything tends to fall in place.
Start with the first four attributes, work toward a 40 rating, and you will become an invaluable employee. As a manager, master the first four attributes. Add to these the skill of delegation, and the ability to inspire, while attempting to work your way out of your job. You will become so indispensable the company will do everything possible to keep you on board, even into retirement!
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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION
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