Professional Employee Characteristics

            Employers hiring for any enterprise have one thing in common: they are looking for employees who possess valuable characteristics and attributes because they are applicable to any job in the world (Loretto, 2014). First, a strong work ethic means that the employee knows how to work; the employer can be confident that the employee is going to give an honest effort everyday with every assignment. Second, a positive attitude, demonstrated in the workplace, ensures that the employee who possesses the positive attitude and all his/her co-workers do their best work.

            Dictionary.com defines work ethic as “a belief in the moral benefit and importance of work and its inherent ability to strengthen character.” Every employer is looking for employees who have strong character. Work ethic is crucial in the workplace because it’s the attribute by which all work gets completed; hard workers gain instant trust from their employers because they know how to work and don’t waste valuable company time on personal matters (Loretto, 2014).  

            A positive attitude is a crucial characteristic in the workplace because it breeds happiness and success for coworkers. When one employee has a positive attitude, it spreads like a wildfire and helps his/her co-workers work happier and handle difficult arising issues (“What do,” 2014). Employers can be sure that when their employees have a positive attitude, they are doing their best work. Customers love dealing with businesses that have happy, positive workers.

Professional attributes and characteristics are vital in the workplace because they are applicable to every job. Strong work ethic is essential so that assignments can be completed. Positive attitudes help keep a happy, efficient atmosphere in the workplace. Every employee needs to posses these attributes in order to experience success in his/her given field.

References

Loretto, P. (2014). The Top 10 Work Values Employers Look For

 [Supplemental material]. About.com. Retrieved from http://internships.about.com/od/internshipsuccess/a/workvalues.htm

What do employers want from their employees? (2014). America’s Job Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.americasjobexchange.com/career-advice/what-employers-want

work ethic. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved March 06, 2014, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/work ethic

Tips for Team Effectiveness

Two important principles that can be found very effective in helping establish an effective team are (1) communicating openly, honestly and with respect helps all team members to feel free to ask questions and make comments that are sincere without fear of judgment from the other team members, thus establishing unity (Heathfield, 2014); (2) getting to know every team member will build a strong “family-like bond” and help you understand how to motivate each member of your team, as well as understand his/her “hot buttons” or when they are in a bad mood (Paterson, 2010).

            Open, kind communication between team members is one of the best ways to lead a team to effectiveness by building unity and avoiding misunderstandings. Unity is the foundation for any team to complete their goals. A certain saying states, “there is no ‘I’ in team”; this statement emphasizes the fact that a team must work together in unity in order to experience success and be effective. Open communication helps teams uncover and solve misunderstandings that can potentially dam progress indefinitely by destroying unity and causing contention. Thus communication advances teams closer to their goal and builds additional unity (Heathfield, 2014).

            Developing friendships by spending time to get to know each other helps members of a team to work more effectively by allowing them to know how to compliment each other and avoid each other’s “hot buttons” (Paterson, 2010). When members of a team become friends, they look out for the best interest of the other members. These types of teams have members who compliment and serve one another. At the same time, team members are able to avoid each other’s pet peeves; this means fewer obstacles and smoother sailing.

            Building open communication, and developing friendships with all team members, are two principles that greatly boost and accelerate team effectiveness. Developing unity and avoiding contention are two of the biggest benefits of establishing good communication within a team. Getting all members of a team to know each other and be friends allows them to be extra successful by helping them avoid stepping on each other’s toes and working effectively together. Team effectives must start by applying these two principles.

References

Heathfield, S. (2014). Tips for better teamwork [Supplemental material]? About.com. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/teambuilding/f/team_work.htm

Paterson, M. (2010, September 02). 7 tips for developing an effective team [Supplemental material]. Biznik. Retrieved from http://biznik.com/articles/7-tips-for-developing-an-effective-team