The Model Employee

The more strongly you feel about what you do, the more likely you are to push yourself to be good at it and find a way to make a success of it.


Blake MyCoskie Toms

I’ve Been Thinking. . . what if I was the model employee? What does the model employee look like, act like, perform like, and behave like?

Several years ago I traveled to Northern Minnesota to pick up a prisoner at a minimum security prison. Upon checking in at the hotel I asked the clerk what they did for fun and excitement in their community.

“In the evenings,” he responded, “we go down to the lake and watch the moose dance on ice. It’s delightful.”

I decided experiencing this strange activity was better than nothing or staring at the walls in my hotel room. I checked out of the hotel the next morning and let the clerk know I went down to the lake the night before to watch the moose dance on the ice. “It was the worst thing I ever saw,” I told him. “The animals were clumsy and uncoordinated. They were falling all over themselves and the ice.”

“Well of course they were,” sneered the local. “No one goes to the lake on Wednesday. That’s amateur night.”

Today’s team member can’t afford to act like an amateur. Regardless of the day or the situation, organizations need our best effort every minute of every day. Good employees are dependable, reliable, focused on results, and show up every day to do what’s required.

Model employees understand the necessity to take their performance to a heightened level. There are significant distinctions between remarkable employees and the amateur (good employees). Here are a few distinguishing qualities.

Love What They Do. Model employees do what they love and love what they do. As Billy Cox indicated, “If you don’t love what you do, you have two choices. You can either change what you’re doing or you can change what you love.” Loving what you do is fundamental to becoming a team member with exceptional value. I don’t mean ‘like your job.’ I’m talking about an unmatched, irrepressible, intoxicating passion for what you do. Only those who have it, understand it. Others find it just a bit strange. . . almost irritating. It’s okay to be a bit quirky --- passionate about what you do.

Exceed Expectations. Exceptional employees could care less about their job description. They are motivated by doing whatever it takes to generate results to help their organization succeed. In fact, their mantra is do whatever it takes and then just ‘a little bit more.’ Regardless of the job expectations, the model employee understands the job description is a minimal guide for their daily contribution. They have higher aspirations. They transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Make Relationships a Priority. Ben Stein got my attention when he said, “personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grows.” Note the use of the word “all.”

Remember the Academy Award winning movie Rocky? I love the scene where boxer Rocky Balboa describes his relationship with his girlfriend, Adrian: “I’ve got gaps. She’s got gaps. But together we’ve got no gaps.” Collaborative relationships minimize, or even eliminate the gaps.

Exceptional team members understand their success is directly related to their ability to help others be successful. The old phrase, “when I help others to be successful, I too will be successful,” is a daily reminder to make relationships with my team mates a priority. Without their success, I’m mediocre. Weird isn’t it?

Work Smart. Model employees zealously refrain from committing random acts of stupidness. They don’t do dumb things. They use their experience, knowledge, insight and common sense to work smart, make smart decisions and seek smart solutions to lingering possibilities. Notably, they don’t shoot themselves in the foot by taking action that causes others to say, “What was that all about?”

Here is a sure fire ‘work smart’ formula. Find a way to do what you do best every day by investing your strengths in a culture that is a fit for you.

Be a Problem Solver. As John Maxwell said, “Many people would rather deal with old problems than find new solutions.” Not true of the truly outstanding employee. Peter Drucker once commented that; “People do not want to hear about your labor pains. They want to see the baby.”

It’s all about producing results regardless of the circumstances. The mediocre, normal, run of the mill team member tends to talk about their problems, dwell on them and sometimes even exaggerate their problems. The model employee produces results despite their challenges and sometimes because of their problems. In other words, they deliver the baby despite the labor pains.

Devoted to Excellence. Mediocre or good enough is never in the vocabulary of an outstanding employee. They are always tinkering, massaging, fooling around, or experimenting to create excellence. Other people love policies and procedures while the model employee loves to find a better way.

Unfortunately, too many people exemplify Yogi Berra’s comment. “I’m in favor of leaving the status quo the way it is,” he said. Nothing of significance is accomplished from that mentality.

If you want to be average, do what average people are doing. Excellence happens when you think about it, talk about it, and model it all day long, every day. Such is the modus operandi of the model employee.

There it is. That’s what I see in model employees and what I aspire to be. I understand this isn’t an exhaustive list of a remarkable employee’s lifestyle but it’s a great start. Once I get these qualities mastered, I’m sure I’ll discover another set of admirable qualities to pursue.

Gotta get going. . . I’ve got some work to do.

You should feel as excited about going to work in the morning as you are about getting home at night.


Lee Cockerel

Hero or Horrible Boss?

“You (boss) volunteered to be a leader (accepted promotion) hence you volunteered to be a full-time “people developer.” Don’t like it? Fire yourself.”

Tom Peters

I’ve Been Thinking . . . about the incredible responsibility of being a leader.

In their book The Manager’s Communication Handbook, the authors share these disturbing findings: First, only 14% of employees said they had a positive role model at work. Also, 86% couldn’t identify even one person at work they wanted to emulate. How sad! Especially considering these attitudes are a direct hit on leaders.

The film comedy Horrible Bosses features three dreadful managers who make their employee’s lives miserable. The targeted victims can’t quit. They need the money. In their desperation, they devise elaborate, absurd plans to eliminate their tyrannical bosses.

The movie is an exaggerated (I hope) display of calloused, uncaring, self-indulging, and controlling scenarios that exemplify the potential destruction caused by horrible bosses. People caught in the harrowing grip of such leaders must be the ones who can’t find a role model at work or identify someone they want to emulate.

In the movie, the three friends bond together and the despicable bosses ultimately cause their own destruction. In real life, the plot is rarely as dramatic or entertaining… or ‘happy ever after.’

Here’s how not to be a horrible boss:

Develop People One At A Time. John Maxwell reminds us, “Never forget that leadership is the art of helping people change from who they’re thought to be to who they ought to be.” People-focused leaders invest their time, energy, and resources into developing people into all they are capable of becoming.

I know you’re busy and have a lot on your plate but unless you invest in your people the rest of your activity loses result power. Develop the skills, knowledge, and talents of your people and impressive results will follow. Figure out what you can do through training, coaching, and mentoring to help your people achieve what they are capable of achieving.

Who should you be investing in today?

Maximize Individual Strengths. Author Stephen Covey suggested, “The job of a leader is to build a complementary team, where every strength is made effective and each weakness is made irrelevant.”

Unlike horrible bosses who are renowned for accentuating everything that’s wrong, great bosses understand people’s greatest potential is achieved by maximizing what they’re already good at doing. Find out what comes naturally to your team members and discover opportunities for them to excel.

Take the talents people possess and design opportunities around them. Don’t try to push a strategy on a person that doesn’t effectively use their strengths. Strategically discovering avenues for people to apply what they do best is a fast track for developing high performers.

Nurture a People-Focused Culture. Great leaders create a great people-focused culture that produces great people results. Gary Kelly, Chairman, President and CEO of Southwest Airlines said in the company’s September 2011 issue of Spirit that “The biggest difference between Southwest and the rest was the attention to Culture. Your business plan is what you are, but Culture is who you are.”

At Southwest, culture is a way of life. It is lovingly referred to as “Living the Southwest Way.” Southwest is intent on hiring people who have a Warrior Spirit, a Servant’s Heart, and a Fun-LUVing Attitude.

“Living the Southwest Way” or any other culture begins with the leader’s unmovable passion to set the standard. A people-focused culture evolves out of a leader’s inherent respect for people and a desire for people to truly be the priority.

Be a Hero. Every leader has someone who is yearning to find a leader who believes in them more than they believe in themselves. Find that person. Be that leader.

Before giving up on a challenged team member, pour your full effort into them. Inject some confidence. Reassure them that you believe they can excel and you’re there to help them get to where they want to go.

Sometimes you’re successful. Sometimes not. Give it your best shot. Sometimes, the victory is just knowing you tried.

When you’re successful . . . you’ll be a hero and you will have gained a team member prepared to perform at new heights.

Serve. Serve. Serve. The higher you rise, the greater your opportunity to serve and the greater your responsibility to find ways to encourage, elevate and energize those around you.

Finding ways to let people know how important you are and the importance of your position minimizes your influence. When you consistently allow others to enjoy the spotlight or you actually create the spotlight for them, your impact is multiplied.
Assume a servant role in all matters, treating others as the most important people in your life.

In their book The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner write, “Any leadership practice that increases another’s sense of self-confidence, self-determination, and personal effectiveness makes that person more powerful and greatly enhances the possibility of success.”

That’s the power of Servant Leadership!

The strategies to become a hero rather than a horrible boss are rather simplistic – but profound!

One day a little boy approached Walt Disney and asked, “Do you draw Mickey Mouse?”

Walt humbly admitted, “I don’t draw anymore.”

The little boy continued, “Then you think up all the jokes and ideas?”

“No,” Disney responded, “I don’t do that.”

Quizzically the boy looked at Disney and said, “Mr. Disney, just what do you do?

“Well,” Disney graciously responded, “sometimes I think of myself as a little bee, I go from one area of the studio to another and gather pollen and sort of stimulate everybody. I guess that’s the job I do.”

Hero bosses nurture everyone around them by stimulating and extracting the best that is available.

People go to work to succeed not to fail. It’s the leader’s duty and responsibility to lead people to success.

Norman Schwarzkopf