7 Secrets to Being a Good (Even Great) Employee

While defining the characteristics of a good employee can be difficult, describing the benefits is easy.

For example, a good employee receives promotions, promotions, and praise from managers. She is often a role model for her colleagues, is chosen for unique projects, and makes all the work look easy.

But what does it mean to be a good employee? And what skills can you work on to make sure you are considered good, or even good? large – Employees in your own company?

Here, I’ve spoken with HubSpot employees and managers to identify the soft skills required to be a good employee in any role and to make sure you’re getting some of the benefits discussed earlier. Let’s dive in.

1. A philosophy of growth and willingness to learn.

One of the greatest strengths of a good employee is willingness to learn and a sense of growth.

A philosophy of growth, a term first coined by Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, means that you believe you can develop and refine skills and get better at something over time. A fixed mindset, on the other hand, means that you feel that your intelligence and abilities are inherent and immutable.

In the workplace, a marketer with a growth mindset may choose to take some analysis classes to develop skills around data, even if her background is more creative. Alternatively, a steadfast marketer would avoid these courses and claim, “I was never good at math. It’s just not something I can do.”

A growth philosophy can influence an employee’s motivation, work ethic, and response to constructive feedback. As Dweck writes, “The passion to stretch and hold on to it, even (or especially) when things are not going well, is the hallmark of the philosophy of growth. This is the mindset that enables people to thrive in some of the toughest times in their lives. “

Ultimately, a good employee is someone who wants to try new things, adopt new skills, and grow.

Anna Fitzgerald, Marketing Manager, Website Blog at HubSpot, says, “A good employee is someone who sees opportunities where it would make sense for your manager to delegate a task or project to you. It’s a win, a win . You take on something. The new responsibility helps you grow and develop new skills. ”

2. A positive and solution-oriented attitude.

Employees enjoy working with people who are positive and solution-oriented when challenges arise.

It can be stressful working with someone who is focused on the negatives or demotivating the rest of the team. For example, in a previous company I worked with someone who did not feel fulfilled in their role. As a result, he often voiced criticism of the company to the rest of our team – which wasn’t a huge motivator for anyone.

A positive attitude can inspire your coworkers to work harder and lift the spirits of your team when faced with a frustrating obstacle. In addition, happiness is associated with greater success. One study found that happy employees are up to 20% more productive than unhappy employees, and happy salespeople generate 37% more sales than their unhappy colleagues.

A positive attitude will also help you move into a solution-oriented attitude more quickly. For example, negativity can make you feel frustrated when a roadblock arises. You could resort to self-blame, criticism, or simply lack of motivation to change your strategy.

However, having a positive attitude can help you remain confident, calm, and level-headed when a challenge arises. Positivity can help you redefine the problem in your head. So you can say, “This challenge is actually an opportunity for us to rethink our strategy and thereby find a better solution.”

Everyone can have bad days, of course, but the mark of a good employee is someone who doesn’t let that bad mood get in the way of problem-solving or building strong team morale.

3. Empathy and emotional intelligence.

Kristen Baker, Marketing Manager at HubSpot, told me that empathy is a key trait to becoming a good employee.

She says: “A good employee shows empathy in dealing with colleagues and customers. In addition, a good employee shows that they care about the effects of their work on the people around them.”

Baker adds, “Empathy can help you put yourself in your customers ‘shoes, which can increase motivation and purpose. When I better understand our customers’ challenges, I see how much my own role can contribute to them Meeting needs and that motivates me to work harder. “

In addition, emotional intelligence is an important skill that employees and managers need to improve. The ability to regulate one’s emotions as well as the emotions of others has proven invaluable in the workplace.

To increase your emotional intelligence, take an EI quiz to see how emotionally intelligent you are, then identify areas for improvement. (HubSpot even offers one!)

To practice empathy in the workplace, ask coworkers how they are doing and practice active listening skills to build a relationship over time. For example, if an employee mentions that they are celebrating their birthday this weekend, make sure to ask around and ask how it went.

Also, take the time to understand how your products or services match your customers’ needs. Put yourself in their shoes. Listen to customer interviews or read survey responses to better understand your customers’ challenges. In this way, of course, you can develop more empathy towards your customers.

4. Accountability.

Accountability simply means taking responsibility for your actions, and this is an incredibly important skill in the workplace.

People screw up every day – it comes down to how you deal with your mistakes. Go straight to your boss, outline the problem at hand, and explain how you may have created or contributed to the problem.

Showing that you’re not afraid to admit when you’re wrong is a sign of a good (and honest) employee. It won’t help anyone if you try to hide problems or point your fingers.

Additionally, it is impressive when you take the time to reflect on yourself and think about how you could change your approach to meet your goals next time around.

For example, if you are responsible for getting 12 posts published per month and only completing 10, you want to find out what was preventing you from achieving the goal.

Then when you contact your manager, you can say, “I struggled with the last two pieces because I didn’t take into account exactly how long each piece would take, especially those pieces that require external quotation marks I’ve been thinking, I’ve realized that I need to write three pieces a week and give myself a few extra days to get in touch and collect quotes before I start writing my quote pieces. “

5. Critical thinking on a grand scale.

A good employee takes the time to take a break from everyday life and evaluate the overall goals. It must always be ensured that his work is in line with the company’s goals and has a positive effect on the company’s results.

Even if you’ve just started in a new business, it’s never too early to ask questions and become interested in the larger organization. Strategic thinking on a grand scale is a sign of a good employee, and your boss will notice if you take the time to think critically about the issues or tasks ahead and how they fit into your company’s overall strategy.

6. Ambition.

Charlene Strain, HubSpot Associate Marketing Manager for Global Co-Marketing Acquisition & Partnerships, sees ambition as an important trait for any good employee.

Ambition may look different for everyone, but in this case we’re talking about ambition in terms of scalability.

As Strain notes, “To be a good (and even great) employee, you need to look for scalability in every aspect of your role. Find ways to make a process run smoother or implement processes that don’t exist.”

Strain adds, “As you move on or off a different role, consider whether someone else can easily complete your day-to-day duties and expand the role and program. If not, consider how you can reduce that friction.”

A good employee thinks about how she can make her role more efficient for the entire company. She also thinks about how she could create new processes to make it a whole team Spending easier.

For example, I’ve seen colleagues clean out outdated filing systems and create new, streamlined Google Drive folders for easy access to important information. I’ve also seen colleagues rephrase their daily tasks for greater efficiency. These were then used on a large scale to revamp the way HubSpot wrote content.

As you play a new role, take the time to consider inefficiencies or small details that can cause problems as you scale. These problems could turn into opportunities for growth.

7. Good communication skills.

After all, a good employee is clear and direct with colleagues. She practices good communication skills – including active listening, setting clear expectations, asking questions, and showing interest in what the other person is saying.

We have all worked with colleagues who don’t seem to be listening when we speak or who don’t follow up on something they said they would. It’s frustrating and can decrease confidence. A good employee exercises strong communication skills every day – both in person and online.

A good employee can also articulate when she can take on additional projects and when not. This is part of setting clear expectations.

Jen Stefancik, HubSpot’s Team Manager for Channel Promotions, says to me, “You can say ‘no’ and still be helpful. For example, you shouldn’t be doing work that you can’t or shouldn’t prioritize, but you can still go the extra mile to suggest other avenues, resources, or advice to the person seeking help. “

It is important to note that it takes time to become a good employee and there will be setbacks.

Commented Clint Fontanella, a manager on the HubSpot blog team, “Most people want to move forward quickly. They want to make more money, get a better job, or get a better promotion, and they start measuring themselves against it instead of every day measure up.” Daily output. You will have bad days. There are people who get promotions before doing this. Your boyfriend could get a new job and make more money. “

“All you can do is focus on you and be as consistent as possible – both in your work and in your attitude – and good things will happen.”