Another great posting by Jacob Morgan and a perfect fit to my recent (German language) posting on multitasking in a multichannel world. where distraction is the biggest challenge: To keep pace there are five qualities that the modern employee needs to possess.
Embrace change
… This new workforce means new behaviors and new technologies; employees should be stepping forward together and embracing the change that is going to make their jobs and lives easier. As Winston Churchill said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
via The 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Employee – Forbes.
In my opinion the most challenging quality. People usually don’t like change. And this not meant to be limited to usage of technology. People like to stay in their comfort zone and like to do things like they used to do it years and years. And if we are talking about technology: If we don’t convince users of a personal benefit, the new technology will ultimatively fail. Think about technologies like CRM etc.
Have a voice in your company
For the first time in the history of business “leader” and “manager” are not mutually exclusive. Leaders no longer to have to be managers, … New collaborative technologies are empowering every single employee within an organization to share their passions, interests, ideas, and feedback. …
via The 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Employee – Forbes.
True and dangerous. Not every traditional manager likes to see the new voices … The company needs to ensure a code of conduct, how to share and how to honor it.
Be autonomous
… As a modern employee you must be capable of executing on your deliverables whether you are in an office, cafe, or at home.
via The 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Employee – Forbes.
Well, in theory you can work from anywhere. In practise only a few comapnies allow to do so. But – true – the situation is changing and to work in home office is different. Believe me, I am doing it for quite a while …
Share and help others
This was one of the key qualities for the modern manager but it’s also a key quality for the modern employee. Traditionally employees wanted to keep ideas to themselves to get credit for their own contributions. … To be a modern employee you must become comfortable with sharing and helping others.
via The 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Employee – Forbes.
We are in a situation where we hopefully move from the world of private email silos in a environment of transparency, knowledge sharing and true collaboration. If you see contribution rates in Social Software and Enterprise Social Networks, it is still along way to go. But it shouldn’t stop us: Only 10 contributing, % 90 % only consuming information and knowledge. Excellent, if they really do so. The dangerous group are those, who don’t care about the information and knowledge. And don’t forget the crucial question of an employee: What’s in it for me, when I share? You need to be able to answer this question.
Filter and focus
In today’s work environment we are pulled in many directions. We are on meetings while we check email, simultaneously tweeting, editing a document, and IMing with a colleague. … This means being able to put people and messages “over ice.” Information bombards employees from every direction which means employees need to become adept at filtering out and focusing on what’s crucial.
via The 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Employee – Forbes.
This is going to become one of the top skills of a Manager and an Employee. We need to teach both, how to not look in your inbox’s and activity streams like a maniac, but to organize, filter and focus work and information. Sounds easy? It isn’t and I rarely see education on it.
Last but not least: @Jacobm, thank you for sharing!