A recent international study surveyed more than 500 business leaders and asked them what separates ordinary employees from exceptional ones. The researchers wanted to know why some people are more successful than others at work, and the answers were surprising: most of the business leaders pointed to “personality” as the quality that leads people to success at work.
(See: Richard Branson: Don’t hire a CV, hire a personality)
Notably, 78% of the leaders chose personality as the characteristic that makes the difference, ranking it above cultural fit (53%) and even above employees’ skills (39%).
The problem is that when leaders say “personality”, they don’t really understand what they’re referring to. Personality is a stable set of preferences and tendencies through which we approach the world. Being an introvert or an extrovert is an example of an important personality trait.
Personality traits form at an early age and become fixed in early adulthood. Many important things change over the course of your life, but your personality isn’t one of them.
Personality is distinct from intelligence (IQ). The two don’t occur together in any meaningful way. Personality is also distinct from emotional intelligence (EQ), and this is where, according to the study, most of the leaders surveyed misunderstood the term.
(See: Why attitude matters more than IQ.)
The qualities that the leaders in the study called personality were actually emotional intelligence skills. And unlike personality, emotional intelligence can change and improve.
See also: Which books to read to become smarter, open your mind and make better decisions
Exceptional employees don’t possess God-given personality traits; they rely on simple, everyday emotional intelligence skills that anyone can incorporate into their life.
Leaders don’t have to go hunting for these skills; their job is to help every member of their team harness them so that they become exceptional employees.
Just consider some of the emotional intelligence skills that leaders and managers commonly mislabel as personality traits.
According to Travis Bradberry, founder of TalentSmart and author of the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0, these are the skills that exceptional employees have.
1. They are willing to delay gratification
One thing an exceptional employee never says is “That’s not part of my job.” Exceptional employees work beyond the boundaries of their job descriptions. They get on with their work, confident that they will be rewarded later, but without worrying if they aren’t.
2. They can tolerate conflict
Exceptional employees don’t go looking for conflict, but they don’t run away from it either. They can keep their composure while presenting their positions calmly and logically. They can withstand personal attacks for the sake of the common goal, and they never use those tactics against their colleagues.
3. They stay focused
Trainee pilots are often told: when things start to go wrong, don’t forget to fly the plane. Plane crashes have resulted from pilots so focused on identifying a problem that they flew the aircraft into the ground. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 is just one example: the flight crew was so preoccupied with whether the landing gear was down that they didn’t notice they were losing altitude until it was too late, even though alarms sounded in the cockpit.
Exceptional employees understand the principle of “just fly the plane”. They aren’t distracted by bad-tempered customers or office squabbles. They can tell real problems from background noise, and so they stay focused on what really matters.
4. They are courageous
Exceptional employees are willing to speak up when others aren’t, whether to ask a tough question or to challenge an executive decision. However, this is balanced by common sense. They think before they speak and wisely choose the best time and place to do so.
5. They keep their ego in check
Exceptional employees do have egos. While that’s part of what drives them, they never give their ego more weight than it deserves. They are willing to admit when they’re wrong and willing to do things someone else’s way, either because the other person’s way is better or because it matters for keeping the team in harmony.
6. They are never entirely satisfied with their work
Exceptional employees are always convinced that things can be better, and they’re right. When it comes to self-improvement, “good enough” doesn’t cut it. No matter how well things are going, exceptional employees feel they must improve, without forgetting to give themselves a pat on the back from time to time.
7. They are accountable
Exceptional employees are accountable. They own their work, their decisions and all their results, good or bad. They bring their mistakes to management’s attention and don’t cover them up in the hope that no one will find out.
8. They are marketable
“Marketable” can mean many things. Within the organisation, it means “likeable”. Exceptional employees are well liked by their co-workers. They have integrity and leadership skills. They can be trusted to represent the organisation. Managers know they can send these employees to meet current and potential clients without having to worry about what they’ll say or do.
9. They neutralise toxic people
Dealing with difficult people is frustrating and exhausting for most of us. Exceptional employees control their interactions with toxic people by keeping their feelings in check. When they have to deal with a toxic person, they approach the situation rationally. They identify their own emotions and don’t allow anger or frustration to fuel the chaos.
They also consider the toxic person’s point of view and are able to find solutions and common ground. Even when things are about to fall apart, emotionally intelligent people are able to calm the toxic person down so that they don’t drag them down.
Further reading
Featured image: Reedy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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