Case Study #2: Help him rebuild his reputation Daniel Hanson (not his real name) once managed an IT team at a large multinational that suffered every time it had to interact with Bob (also not his real name), a senior internal consultant. Good employee traits go hand in hand with being a good person. Amir is a sales VP with a high excitable score. She also encouraged them to focus on themselves and their work, not on what someone else was or was not be doing. When they complained about Sharon, she offered advice while still respecting everyones privacy and staying within the law.. Its not because clocking in on time is mandatory, but because it shows theyre serious and care about what they do. By these basic descriptions, all of those candidates seem like a good fit for the role. Employees that are always working to sharpen their skills are vital to the company.Side note: ensure you have effective employee development strategies in place, so your employees have the opportunity to excel. Taking the credit of others can also happen in meetings. Source, attract and hire top talent with the worlds leading recruiting software. Social interaction and positive relationships are important for various attitudinal, wellbeing, and performance-related outcomes. For example, cautious leaders may convey the illusion of control and risk management in the short term, but being overly cautious may cause them to be so risk-averse that they obstruct progress and innovation. Sure, chatting about your successes can help motivate the team, but when an employee shares their glory and also accepts criticism, the company is better for it. Cassandra and Joe have thoughtful ideas about presenting to their audience and they start with the most important question: what does my audience want/need? He recommended a counselor provided by the company and offered up his own time and advice in weekly meetings. These problem employees repeatedly fail to take responsibility for their own actions and are more likely to blame those around them for their poor outcomes. Remember, too, that people in your personal life are likely to be more familiar with your dark side than work colleagues are, so ask for their candid opinions as well. They are selfish saboteurs who clog your work flow. A sound plan gives strength to New Years resolutions. Minor is currently researching toxic doctors and says that early results indicate that some are either unable or unwilling to change. Subversive behavior is unethical. In contrast, accepting constructive criticism reveals an employee who listens, strives to improve, and has enough humility to recognize the areas that need a bit of spit and polish. Since then their related assessment, the Hogan Development Survey (HDS), licensed by the eponymous company with which I am affiliated, has been widely adopted within the field of industrial-organizational psychology as a way to identify individuals development needs. Let him know that mistakes are frustrating but expected, and it is best to admit to them rather than blame them on others. Two decades ago the psychologists Robert and Joyce Hogan created an inventory of 11 qualities, ranging from excitable to dutiful, that when taken to the extreme, resemble the most common personality disorders. Like CNBC Make It on Facebook! Oftentimes the behavior doesnt run against anything legal so you cant fire them if others in the organization dont agree that a line has been crossed, Porath explains. The study also established that positive job performance behaviors of employees caused by the Big Five Personality Traits such as appropriate behavior to develop work methods that maximizes productivity, efficiency and . Connect with him at GregLAlston.com or Twitter. Now, well evaluate them against the five critical qualities of a good employee and candidate using a conspicuous but effective tool: interview questions. Companies can achieve a positive working environment by focusing on their overall culture, supporting employee . In my previous company, we valued both teamwork and independent working. Not only do you want a good communicator, but you also want someone who isnt afraid to speak up. Someone who is dutiful and eager to please those in authority can easily become too submissive or acquiescent. Here's the full list of 11 problem employee behaviors: Like this story? Instead, she worked to prevent the negativity from seeping into everything by routinely giving Sharon feedback and direction. Please rate it! Inspirational motivation: the leader motivates and inspires their followers. His personal life was a mess between bad relationships and estranged children. In a situation that impacts your customers, such as data theft, take steps to prevent the issue from happening again and decide whether you want to pursue legal action. Find out where the whispers start, and you will identify who has to be invited to leave. A Division of NBC Universal, Things to give up if you want to be a great boss, Amazon pays employees up to $5,000 to quit here's why, How this 39-year-old earns $26,000 a year in California. Allows little or no input from group members. You want someone who can spot the little things because often those can cause the most headaches (the wrong date in a contract, a customers name being misspelled, etc). These are signs that the candidate will adapt to a new team, and they will define their own goals to keep them motivated in the new role. What is social capital, and how can educators help students build it? Everyone wants someone good in their life that is reliable, punctual, confident, and loyal. The new projects youre working on are very relevant to my Masters so Ill be able to apply my knowledge on the job and learn more about the practical aspects of machine learning and also come up with new projects. Performing these types of evaluations will help you "better understand how others are experiencing you right or wrong, good or bad," the CCL reports. Diligence helps you pay attention to details and strive to produce quality work, yet in excess it can morph into procrastination and obsessive perfectionism. Talk to the employee who inappropriately took credit about how and why it happened and how to prevent it in the future. The standard feedback rules apply: Objectively explain the behavior and its effects, using specific, concrete examples. HBR Learnings online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Feedback Essentials. Its not just that Joe is rude. Ahh, now this is important! Heres what to do instead. Having an employee who can lead a team is one thing; however, when you are able to engage with all team members and collaborate as an equal, thats something else. We spent a lot of time going over my code and I was able to quickly improve my skills. Side note: as a manager, make sure you are not applying too much pressure and stress on your employees. Respondents identified this type of employee as someone others dislike and these individuals find it hard to form positive relationships with co-workers. Even better: Ask bosses, peers, subordinates, and clients to give you honest and critical feedback on your tendency to display these traits. Being bold and confident to the point of arrogance is a good example; so is being puckishly mischievous, with an enormous appetite for reckless risk. CareerBuilder says that 60% of hiring managers look for a team-oriented candidate during the application process. Give feedback that your employees can hear and use. Leaders are influential and largely impact organization's destiny; apart from their positive attitude and charismatic traits whereas toxic leadership is a destructive term and destructive leader behavior destroys the organization and teams with their negative and toxic behavior. They're often willing to take on challenging assignments and learn new things. First, Id see if I could learn who exactly will be in the meeting. Soft skills and technical skills are equally important when looking to hire an employee. Eventually, however, those weaknesses may derail them, and perhaps their teams and organizations, too. Other employees may deflect and point fingers when they make a mistake. I call them toxic because not only do they cause harm but they also spread their behavior to others, she explains. Case Study #1:Give direct feedback and support the rest of the team Christina Del Villar, the director of marketing at the e-commerce operations software firm Webgility, managed a small team at a start-up earlier in her career. All Rights Reserved. Basford and Offermann (2012) found that employees in both low- and high-status positions reported higher levels of motivation when interpersonal relationships with coworkers were good. But the seductive traits sometimes had positive effects. How you deal with it depends on the situation, but it is important to gather all the facts and act appropriately and quickly. Some bad employee traits are easier to overcome than others. Christina made sure to document the behavior but says she couldnt fire Sharon because the woman had threatened to sue for a variety of reasons, including her medical condition should she be let go. When considering what it takes to succeed at work, we often focus on innate strengths: high intelligence, the ability to learn, the ambition to achieve, and the social skills to develop strong relationships. Subversive behavior is the highest form of evil. Crushing a person is rarely a constructive pathway to strong teamwork. But thats just me. Some people always undermine your team with their negativity. Their co-workers admire their honesty because they know theyll get a genuine answer as they interact, which is a key quality of a good employee. This isnt like in The Wolf of Wall Street where bragging and being loud work. This doesnt imply that you should evaluate only these skills and nothing else. Failure to complete work/assignments: Some people always have a reason why their work is not done. It is complaining without actively seeking to be involved in the solution. And bold, ultra-confident CEOs often attain high levels of growth in entrepreneurial ventures. When you find someone with the qualities of a good worker and who also matches your company culture you know the match will work. Ambition An ambitious person is someone who is driven to succeed. The key to gathering accurate information is to recognize that people will generally avoid offering critiques, especially to leaders, unless the behaviors are truly egregious. Some people always undermine your team with their negativity. I really like the company and the role. She has worked in sales and has managed her own business for more than a decade. Of course one of the qualities of a good employee is being detail-oriented! Dark-side traits also differ in their consequences. Not dwelling on the past. Knowing these important qualities to look for in an employee means you have better chances of hiring the best people and avoiding the scary costs of making a bad hire. In the process, you can greatly enhance your reputation, your career, and your leadership potential. But the important thing, when they do toot their own horn, they dont sound selfish when they do it. You may show ambition by overcoming problems and exceeding professional targets with hard work and dedication. There are ways to limit the harm they do. One employee, Sharon (not her real name), a senior marketing manager, was making the rest of the group miserable. The whole team suffers because of it. Of course, your first step as a manager should be to avoid hiring toxic people in the first place, but once theyre on your team, it can be hard to get rid of them. Europe & Rest of World: +44 203 826 8149 No one can get to where they want to be without some help along the way. To counteract the negativity and make sure youre still thriving, surround yourself with supportive, positive people and look for meaning and purpose in your work, she says. Gaining an understanding of different personality traits can help workers grow and managers engage more effectively with their employees. Tell us what *you* think of our resources and what youd like to see here in 2023. Plus, self-improvement is an ongoing process. Lets meet our hypothetical candidates: Hes an experienced developer with a background in machine learning. Cassandra displays a slightly stronger drive to improve. displaying positive energy. Termination for poor performance should not come as a surprise to the employee. Employees do a good job on their own job but a manager wants the team to do well thats why they mentor employees or pitch in if needed. 1 response was poor job performance, followed by an inability to work well with others and not responding to coaching. Read our guide on how to ease your employees stress to ensure theyre happy and productive. Not all dark-side traits are created equal. Whoever doesnt learn risks staying behind, no matter their accumulated knowledge or position. I have a preference toward Cassandra who gave good and thoughtful answers without showing any major red flags. For instance, colorful, attention-seeking leaders often get better marks from bosses than their more reserved counterparts. We probably need a disclaimer here: Culture fit is one of the most subjective qualities of a good job candidate and its unique to each team and company. Instead, its best to have an employee who shares their success with the team. Side note: are you not sure how to create your own internal communication strategy? Start today by requesting a demo or posting a job for free to discover how Workable can help you find and hire great people. A mischievous, risk-taking leader who is under pressure to demonstrate financial growth can destroy an entire organization with a single impulsive decision. taking responsibility. Being Disrespectful to Customers, Co-Workers or Managers Take careful notes about the complaint, and thank the employee for their . The third cluster contains ingratiating traits, which can have a positive connotation in reference to followers but rarely do when describing leaders. My previous role didnt allow me to properly experiment with machine learning, but this role will. Im also thinking of doing a Masters in machine learning and I want to be sure that this is what I want. Of course, such acts of intentional acknowledgement and encouragement require effective leadership that is both motivating and inspiring. Sometimes it was as easy as saying they were doing a great job or thanking them for stepping up to fill the void left by Sharon, she explains. After all, you know that he is the one responsible, and not taking responsibility reflects poorly on him. Talk to the person to try to understand whats causing the behavior. We've got the platform you need. Traits in the second cluster are, in contrast, seductive qualitiesgeared to pull people in. Purpose: This study examines the effect of personality traits on organizational cynicism (OC). How do you know when to cut someone some slack or terminate their employment? The following qualities of a good employee can be vital for success, and you can consider developing them to enhance your skills, job application and candidacy for future interviews: 1. As far as qualities of a good employee are concerned, this one really does show an employees greatest strength after all, its better to have someone ask for help than to do something the wrong way. 11 psychology-based traits associated with positive self-perception. They admit to the mistake and take steps to rectify it, or at the very least, they listen to your coaching on how to improve moving forward. As the former Head of Content at Connecteam, Rea was responsible for helping clients build smart, effective employee management strategies and brings years of experience and knowledge to help improve employee engagement. One of my managers once told me that my code had a lot of unnecessary lines and was tough to read. In order to be the kind of business that people want to work for, you have to have a group of people working for you that come together to get good work done. Do any of the traits sound a little (or a lot) like you? You should also look for signs that the candidate is able to solve problems and find solutions that can be applied to their future job role in your company. Its not about the activities you finished, its about the results you got. Quantitative in nature, the study is based on a questionnaire survey method administered on 360 employees sampled from 9 commercial banks: both private and foreign joint venture banks. But thats not what this skill is about (needless to say, you should always pay people a living wage and avoid overworking them). The exact meaning of culture fit changes with every organization. Cassandra clearly values collaboration, but she displays less team spirit than Joe. As managers, we expect the best behavior from each member of our team all the time. Don't miss: Living abroad can help you make smarter career decisions, Get Make It newsletters delivered to your inbox, Learn more about the world of CNBC Make It, 2023 CNBC LLC. Being excitable may help you display passion and enthusiasm to coworkers and subordinates, but it can also make you volatile and unpredictable, which is taxing to others.