I aspire to being an amazing employee. Let's face it, we all think we are outstanding in some fashion, but do we really understand concretely the characteristics of an amazing employee from our employer's perspective? I'm going to say that we know some, but not all, of the ingredients needed to surprise and delight our employers.
10 Things Really Amazing Employees Do by Kevin Daum published in Inc. outlines traits that should be recognized and rewarded. It's a perfect employee handbook both from the employee's and manager's point of view. Please do read this original article. I have taken great liberty in my interpretation - it's such an excellent thought-starter.
1. Understands the business - It took me a long time to figure out what a McKinsey consultant was working to achieve for a client and how they did it. But once I understood their pressures, skill set, process and approach, I was better able to fit my services to their needs. I encountered many people in the company whose work was so isolated, they had no idea what the conference invoice was achieving or how their work fit into the master plan. The McKinsey IT helpdesk is probably the best example who to train a group of non-consultants to operate at their level, problem solve with them, and really get into the shoes of their customers. Kudos to Adrian, Bob, Sandra, and Michele.
2. Ambassador and steward - There have been a number of examples of increased employee engagement when employees are shareholders - the company IS their own and they are in charge of its future. When this kind of incentive is not available to all organizations, it comes down to an employee's integrity and strong values to act as a responsible steward of the company's resources. I remember a consultant from South America, unfamiliar with the Canadian winters, charged her purchase of new snow boots back to the client as a business expense. I sure hope that one was disallowed.
3. Generates growth opportunities - Drawing on a strong understanding of the business (point #1), a great employee on the front line is in a tremendous position to make improvements and observe the client in a special way. I remember the CEO of Philips encouraging us to call out the issues that may not be in the scope of the project, but are of importance - put everything on the table. Fresh eyes to a situation can be unbelievably valuable.
4. Solves problems proactively - Some people seem to thrive on complaining about problems. I have met so many people who will spend hours regaling problems and solutions (oddly enough), because they are in the position of point #3. In the words of Dr. Phil, "How's that working for you?" I like a good problem and have generated a ton of interesting projects for myself and my career has been rich and rewarding as a result. The complainers have not been so lucky.
5. Tell the truth - At McKinsey, we were governed by a strong set of values and we reviewed them annually on Values Day. My favourite value is "the obligation to dissent." It was the way we ensured that the people with ideas gleaned in #3 and #4 could be assured of an open-minded reception, even if they were very junior. An important point about uncomfortable truths is that we learn from failure just as much as we learn from success. Fear of failure results in a stagnant environment where innovation is considered too risky. No decision IS a decision.
6. Deliver high quality consistently - Naturally, rock star employees are noted for their high quality contributions - this is probably the clearest characteristic and easiest to understand. Not every employee will know where the bar is set for quality. I have found many great managers spend time talking about what they need and less time about how to do it - helping to iterate toward the end result. Top quality work is a team process - everyone contributes and makes the efforts of others better. No man is an island. Thanks Charles.
7. Mentor and bring others along with their success - Spread the wealth, the knowledge, and the secret sauce. Have you ever met someone who was clearly out for themselves at the expense of others? Fortunately, I usually had the opposite experience - see my previous musings on trust in the workplace.
8. Learn and adapt - Ah, was there ever a day at McKinsey when I was not pushed to bend my poor little brain around something I had never heard of before? Yes, there were a few rare quiet days, but most were action packed and challenging. My static colleagues were just that, caught in a rut wondering why opportunities didn't come their way. I characterized my time with McK as "the university of McKinsey." I steeped myself in new knowledge with every team I served. It was so much fun.
9. Strong EQ - Having that emotional quotient to understand how the actions of one influence the attitudes of others is a critical element of success. The best leaders I worked with all had it. This is the one I watch most closely, trying to pick up all the cues, just like an episode of "Lie to Me" which was unjustly cancelled. One senior manager I know is in a complete panic under deadlines and you know what that does to everyone else - yes, they are freaked out too, and not happy about it. I like to calm people down by being calm. When they articulate worst case ("what if they had an accident"), I counter with another view of the situation ("it's probably just a subway delay"). It seems trite, but the person just wants to voice their worries. I try to radiate calm, even if I get that sinking feeling when the computer STOPS WORKING!
10. Make their bosses look great - This is my favourite characteristic and left for last. We work as a team to move forward the goals of the organization. I completely recognize that what a leader brings to the table and what I do is different. My job is to make your job easier. I am not like some folks who grouse about their managers wondering what they do all day - they just don't understand how the manager's job is not to be a souped-up (yes, I checked this idiomatic spelling) version of the employee. It is intangible and metaphorically similar to pushing a big broom.
A collection of amazing employees makes an organization successful. Employees are the backbone of any service to any client or customer. Can you imagine a company with no employees? Nonsensical. Yet, do we always remember what human capital really means? Sometimes, it might be overlooked in the crush of activities.
A surprise arrived in my email today - an unsolicited critique of my resume. I guess I had uploaded a resume in response to a job posting and an affiliated company had taken it upon themselves to look it over (or so I thought). My resume was awarded a respectable score of 70%.
As an active job hunter, advice in any form is a total bonus, so I eagerly logged in to find out what these kind folks had to say about it. As an introduction, I have taken an unconventional approach to my resume because a) that's who I am, and b) I am showcasing writing and design talents (in addition to awesome content knowledge).
The company explained that they used their proprietary software and a resume consultant to arrive at this score. I love this assessment:
Your role tends to carry with it an air of importance or significance in the workplace. This is simply a fact. Your resume needs to carry that same air about it (and about you).
But then they go on to shoot their foot.
The good news is you've included a career summary in your resume, which is the right choice for someone of your experience level. Here is the career summary that we evaluated:
"Strategic management consultancy, 17,000+ employees in 100 offices."
The not-so-great news? Your career summary needs more work to be truly effective.
Um, that's a description of my employer, McKinsey & Company, not my career summary. Here's a comment on structure:
It looks like your resume could use more bullets in certain sections.
At McKinsey, we live and breathe bullets - I stopped counting after 120 bullet points.
Voila! They examined the length of my resume and declare it too long.
Right now your resume is just too [damned] long to be effective (about 2149 words).
Emphasis mine.
To clarify, I have structured it more as a portfolio. 1 page is cover, 2 pages resume, 1 page skills, 2 pages SNA overview, and 1 page workplan. Yes, 7 pages in all of fascinating reading!
Ah, it's all a marketing ploy. Yes, for $229 I can have a resume consultant write me a new resume that fixes all the apparent problems. Geez. How can I take any of this seriously when it is clear that no human eyes fell on the screen, the assessment is riddled with errors, and it's clear they don't understand me or my needs.
Well, I'll have to live with 70% - not too bad for a newbie. I am happy to share my resume, just send me an email.
Recently, I had the opportunity to learn about a role that required picking up a software rollout from the implementation team. It was characterized to me as a failure because many steps were missed and it had not achieved 100% adoption. So I was reflecting on how to approach this project to move it forward to the next level. But a little background first.
At McKinsey, we were in a constant state of change – new leaders, new mandates, new clients, new priorities – everyone worked on making change happen in some capacity. My work in knowledge management was all about developing new approaches to serving clients and then influencing how 7,000 consultants do business. I developed a very strong understanding of my audience, their needs, their communication styles, and how new approaches would make them smarter and more efficient. I built new knowledge delivery applications and analytical approaches directly in response to problems that needed to be solved. I'm the implementer - a critical team member who makes things happen when others could not. My secret is to build collaborative relationships to accomplish my goals. Changing and improving is all in a day's work and a bit taken for granted.
Now, the project in question had achieved a 25% adoption rate in a 8 month timeframe. This translated into nearly 2,000 people actively using the system after limited communication rollout consisting of 3 emails and a webinar - yet, my discussion partner considered it a failure! Gosh, the darned thing practically sold itself!
In light of reaching this number of people, I recommended that they rebrand the soft launch as a pilot and put a positive spin on the high adoption level. They could then, develop success stories and include some analysis of the ROI to help build enthusiasm when communicating the value proposition to the next wave of users.
At McKinsey, we have had great success when cells volunteer to join a schedule of implementation waves - they chose the timing that works for them. This allowed the small implementation team to work at a sustainable level and time to integrate learnings from past waves so that they could improve the process each time they began working with a new group. This method engages new users, helps them gain a sense of control and ownership, reduces resistance, and increases the chances of success.
Below is an excerpt from a McKinsey Quarterly article outlining the importance of engaging the frontline and the value of focusing on the aspects that go well, rather than what does not.
By looking at the approaches used by companies that executives describe as most successful in transforming themselves, we found evidence suggesting the importance of engaging employees collaboratively throughout the company and throughout the transformation journey. Another major theme was the importance of building capabilities - particularly leadership capabilities - to maintain long-term organizational health. In addition, a focus on strengths and achievements, not just problems, throughout the entire transformation process is strongly tied to success. Strong leadership and maintaining energy for change among employees are two principles of success that reinforce each other when executed well. For example, when leaders ensure that frontline staff members feel a sense of ownership, the results show a 70 percent success rate for transformations. When frontline employees take the initiative to drive change, transformations have a 71 percent success rate. When both principles are used, the success rate rises to 79 percent.
Early participants would then become change evangelists to help drive higher adoption levels to future waves. In 18-24 months, I would consider a spectacular success if it achieved the following:
- 90% adoption by happy users
- Quantifiable cost savings and ROI
- Clear understanding of what is preventing the stragglers from converting
- Change team actively working to satisfy the remaining identified needs
Of course, that’s not the end - there are many sub-phases and steps to get ready for the next push, all of which are tumbling around in my head right now. I can only scratch the surface of ideas I have for rolling out a large-scale change project. I've been attending some Prosci change management seminars recently and realize that this only scratches the surface of a strong structured change management project plan.
These types of projects are so much fun - they have so many moving parts - never a dull moment.
