A high performance employee has a number of skills and behaviors that others do not. Two secrets of his high levels of performance are:
1. He has additional knowledge and information not possessed by, although available to, other employees.
A top performer does not rely solely on the information and data directly and immediately provided for any particular job. He uses it as a starting point for acquiring “know-how” and “know-about.” He makes it his business to find all the organization’s informational resources -- databases, manuals and other print publications, audio/video publications and even other knowledgeable employees. He builds his own knowledge base from those resources and then continuously adds to it from outside sources.
He is the kind of employee who knows how his job relates to the work of others within his department, affects others in other departments and impacts the organization as a whole. He also knows how it is done in other organizations. No matter his level in the organization, he is able to use his knowledge to constantly improve his own performance and productivity. He is the kind of employee who when playing the training game of “One hundred uses of a brick,” completes a list in about five minutes.
2. He is creative and inventive.
No organization can supply all the job aids (tools, devices, techniques) that any given employee needs. Despite the accuracy and comprehensiveness of any job description, the demands and circumstances of the workplace are constantly changing.
When a top performer discovers that the practices or implements at his disposal are inadequate, he invents the job tools, techniques, devices, implements, practices or systems necessary to do or improve his work. It could be as simple as making a workflow chart to keep his production on track or as complicated as designing a computer program to automate a process. And generally employees who are inventive are adept at using the resources already at hand in a new way, avoiding added expenses.
