now, no signup required!
“You don’t build a business. You build people, and people build the business.” Zig Ziglar
An organization is as good as its employees. The workforce is the key strength of any organization. For a company, the primary expectation is that its employees will work toward achieving its vision and mission and take it to newer heights. At the same time, every employee expects the organization to value their contribution towards achieving the set vision.
While it is the responsibility of the management to keep employees motivated and make them feel valued, practically, it comes down to the employees to make sure that they highlight their strengths well enough that the management takes notice.
There is often a mismatch between the expectations of the employer and employee when it comes to the key strengths that are valued. How can you highlight something when you don’t know what the management is looking for? There are certain values or strengths that all employees and managers must have to be able to work well together. But, what are they? Not to worry, here are the top 10 key strengths examples that every company values:
-
Coachable
-
Humble
-
High emotional intelligence
-
Disciplined
-
Sound communication skills
-
Self-motivated
-
Team player
-
Honest and Dependable
-
Self-starter
-
Positive mindset
Coachable
If an employee carries the ‘I-know-it-all’ attitude all the time, it gets very difficult for the organization to keep up. A person that is coachable and is willing to learn is the dream of every employer. An employee who has the right attitude towards learning will contribute a lot more to an organization during the job, as compared to a person who is not coachable.
Being coachable is one of the key strengths of an employee in today’s scenario. An employee who is open to the fact that they are not aware of everything, and is open to learning new concepts and skills, can be a valuable asset for the organization.
Humble
An employee that is a tad humble in their attitude is much more valued than someone who is rude and arrogant. The organization expects its employee to have the right mix of humility and enthusiasm when it comes to the list of key strengths of an employee. It is important to know that humility should come naturally to employees, as you cannot fake it for long.
Organizations today are willing to take on board less qualified but humble and enthusiastic employees as compared to a more qualified but arrogant and rude candidate. Humble employees are able to bring a positive mindset, teamwork and the right balance to the team.
High emotional intelligence
An employee that has a high emotional intelligence is much more valued as compared to an employee that has a low emotional quotient. In today’s fast-paced work environment, it is important to have a set of employees that can engage and interact with one another with a positive attitude.
An employee that is high on emotional intelligence has the key strengths of a leader in the long run. Every company expects its employees to have a high emotional quotient so that the team can work in an environment that is welcoming and encourages interaction.
Emotional intelligence focuses on the right set of values that help the employees work effectively together, and teaches the right balance between compromise and negotiation.
As is the case with any of the other soft skills, emotional intelligence cannot be taught in any training module or workshop. The employees must work on their overall behavior and develop emotional intelligence naturally.
Disciplined
The workplace is not a school or college where a professor is expected to maintain discipline. In an organization, discipline is one of the examples of key strengths that exist at the bare minimum level. Organizations do not like to invest their time, money and energy into increasing employees’ discipline levels.
Expecting an employee to be disciplined and not engage in any mischief is the least an organization can expect. Being able to follow the daily schedule and be on top of the assigned work tasks are key strengths expected of any employee. An employee that is disciplined, and doesn’t need to be told about the minimum expectations the management has of them, goes a long way in making their presence felt in any organization.
Sound communication skills
Communication is one of the key strengths that has the potential to boost career growth. A good communicator is easy to talk to, open to discussions, and can handle a difficult work situation with ease.
Sound communication skills are one of the key strengths of a manager as they help in handling a team. A good communicator can also listen to others’ perspectives actively and understand their point of view as well, rather than being judgmental.
Communication skills are not only verbal. Most of the communication that makes a real impact is non-verbal. It can be how you write an email, your body language, and the vibe you carry to your workplace.
Self-motivated
Gone are the days when the manager was expected to keep the team motivated all the time. Today, an organization expects and values an employee that is self-motivated much more as compared to one who requires constant motivation to achieve the set targets.
Self-motivated employees also can motivate their colleagues. Being self-motivated is the key strength of a manager that is looking to climb up the corporate ladder. An employee that is driven by ambition, targets and career growth does not require a carrot or a stick on a regular basis.
Team player
As the saying goes, there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’. A company is aware that teamwork is required to achieve the set goals and expects the employees to work closely with each other as a team. Being a team player is one of the key strengths of an employee that is much more valued than any other key strength mentioned on this list.
A team player that is willing to collaborate with peers towards achieving common goals also grows much faster in their career. In today’s business ecosystem, where teams are working across time zones and geographies, projects often demand a high level of collaboration in order to achieve the set targets.
Honest and Dependable
Being honest and dependable is one of the key strengths of an employee that is invaluable for the organization. Whilst being a team player, if your peers are confident that they can depend on you and you will not betray, sabotage, lie or steal from them, you will have a much better work relationship within the team.
Honesty and dependability are some key strengths examples that have always been valued. Being honest with the management may not go down well in the short term, but the organization will be aware that you are the person they can go to when they are looking for truthful and straightforward answers.
Being dependable is very important when it comes to establishing your reputation in the organization. If you are able to achieve excellent results over a period of time, your manager and the top management will count on you in challenging situations.
Self-starter
Although there are managers in the team who are responsible for keeping employees motivated, and push them towards achieving the set targets, an organization always prefers employees that have a self-starter attitude.
An employee that can get started and achieve beyond what is expected is always valued much more in an organization. Employees that carry a self-starter attitude consistently can also expect to catch the manager’s eye in the long run, and have a better chance of moving up the ladder.
Positive mindset
One of the most important key strengths of any employee is to have a positive mindset. It is a human tendency to focus on the aspects that are negative or appear as challenges in the path towards expected results.
An organization always values an employee that has a positive mindset towards the work that is expected and produces excellent results. An optimistic employee also can recharge the work culture in the organization, especially in times when drastic company changes may hamper the day-to-day productivity of the team.
An employee with a positive mindset can also motivate the other team members and help them stay positive and productive in stressful situations.
Most of the key strengths examples mentioned should be inherently present in an employee. You can focus on the strengths that you already have and work on them further so that you can highlight them when the situation demands, so that you are more valued in the organization. There are a few skills that you can learn over some time and be a more confident and valuable employee for the organization.
Harappa’s Leading Self Course can help you become the best possible version of yourself. With guidance from our world-class faculty, learn how to step out of your comfort zone and chart your career growth with confidence. The Leading Self Course will teach you how to take ownership of your work and harness your skills. Moreover, it will prepare you to overcome barriers and recognize areas of improvement. This leadership development course provides you with the right framework, strategies and tools to witness your growth in action. Why wait? Get in touch with Harappa to know more!
Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as Role Of Personal Values in the workplace, List Of Employability Skills you should have, Examples Of Transferable Skills and Steps for Developing Leadership Skills to advance in your career.
