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