Telephone Excellence by Mike Mitchell

The Secret of Becoming an Excellent Employee
By Mike Mitchell

Whether you're a department manager, division director, or hospital CIO, you're still an employee. Are you an excellent employee, inspiring and motivating your staff to achieve excellence in all that they do? What is the secret to becoming an excellent employee?

The secret to exemplifying excellence in your work life is developing excellence in these four key areas: attitude, behavior, communications, and competence.

Attitude
* Take initiative - be proactive and complete tasks before they're required to be done
* Inspire enthusiasm - be upbeat, positive, and cheerful, and co-workers will respond to your energy
* Demonstrate commitment - do the job better than expected, show loyalty to your staff and hospital

Behavior
* Be punctual - get to work and meetings on time and meet your deadlines
* Be considerate - treat other employees like you want to be treated
* Dress appropriately - your appearance should fit your position; be neat, clean, and well groomed

Communications
* Listen well - misunderstanding instructions causes most errors in the workplace
* Speak clearly - deliver concise instructions and don't talk too much
* Write effectively - use proper grammar and sentence structure in your emails and memos

Competence
* Know your job - understand your responsibilities
* Work hard - lead the way, show your staff, peers, and superiors that you can do it
* Be diligent - complete assigned tasks on time and better than expected

Dr. Robb Thompson, speaker, educator, and author of Excellence in the Workplace, puts excellence in perspective this way, "A person of excellence refuses to adopt a 'just good enough' attitude; instead he presses on toward excellence when others say, 'That's good enough.'"

The secret to becoming an excellent employee is not really a secret but a personal commitment tempered with self-awareness, common sense, and workplace savvy. The "secret" is available to every employee who is willing and motivated to learn, develop skills and attributes, and exceed expectations.

Strive for excellence in all you do and say. Set the standard for your co-workers. You will not only improve yourself, but will become a strong leader and excellent example for your staff and organization.

Mike