Who is the ideal employee?

The last blog about the ideal boss attracted lots of attention and people expressed their thoughts on the point and we all agreed (surprisingly:-) that the five bullets is, in principal, enough to describe the ideal boss.  This time I want to draw a picture of the ideal employee I'd like to work with. To complement the boss's picture I want to write about the ideal employee that reports to you and not simply a workmate. So here the list goes:

• Passionate. I put this item as the foremost trait in the priority of importance. The employee must care about the job.  Even a brilliant expert without interest to the job not only unproductive but hinders team efforts and exerts on the group detrimental effect. It's important to distinguish between an extreme of working 25 hours a day and being passionate. The ideal employee may work precisely 40 hours a week but I expect him love the job and care.
• Fair. I tried to group here a few traits like being responsible, efficient, and conscientious. Being lazy at work is a synonym of being not fair to the company and to the boss. Each of us has own pace, rhythm, and dynamic of work. One prefers to work all the day concentrating on the work and others can afford to spend more time in the office and have more time for browsing the net, coffee, and talks. Some people can take job home and work weekends and others prefer to separate business from family. I don't care what the employee's preferences are as soon as he executes and delivers (and his mode suits the team). I want to trust people reporting to me and not to check what they do and how they spend their working time (it doesn't mean I'm against of coaching, mentoring, and managing it - I simply hope that the ideal employee can manage his time by himself).
• Self-learning. The ideal employee must constantly enrich himself and be driven by a desire to find something new, learn and try something challenging. Active blog and book reading, participation in professional discussions and groups is the first sign of interest and passion. For the hi-tech area participation in the open source community or an off-duty project on the job is a very feasible and pragmatic way to practically grow the level of professionalism. The last thing to add here is I don't confine the studying realms by the professional ones. I emphasize here a desire to learn at first and only at second the areas of interest. The wider the employee's horizon the more creative he is for the group.
• Trusted. Another wide concept. This time it's in the context of team work. I think this is the key epithet in a long list of definitions of a 'team player'. Not everybody has to be the heart and the soul of a group and not each in the company has to possess the full bunch of the soft skills of a good sales man. But I'm sure everybody has to be humanly trusted and professionally respected - both characteristics are earned by the person himself.

This time I leave a few blank bullets for you to complete the list of the traits of the ideal employee. What would you add to the picture of such a guy?

Technorati tags: team, job, career

Comments

[EM]

Lol - What would I add to the picture of such a guy? I'd add that sometimes it might be a gal. ;)

- EM