Not everyone will get it.
Four qualities routinely belong to good workers; creativity, curiosity, motivation, and a thirst for knowledge. People with these qualities consistently think outside of the box. They have a passion to answer why and how. They do not need silly rewards to fuel greater effort. Lastly, they learn constantly and always want to learn more. These workers are often the people the boss does not worry about and so are able to work the way they please. This turns into a cycle of success. The more you succeed at work, the more freedom and power you have. Enough with the summary. Let’s attack the qualities one by one.
Creativity is the ability to see things differently. Creative people can attack problems from multiple angles and not be influenced by the obvious solution. Creative people don’t copy/paste. They are influenced by things, but always make something new and different. The trouble with creativity is that it can lead to a lot of bad ideas. The best creative people are thick-skinned and keep churning out ideas. And when one sticks, they keep churning away.
Curiosity is what drives people to explore. Curious people explore why and how something exists. Curious people don’t like repetition and investigate constantly. Some say curiosity killed the cat, but that’s just society trying to calm all the creative cats down. Curiosity can lead down a lot of dead ends, but that is half the fun. Curious people enjoy the chase. The chase for information can be very cruel, but also very kind.
Motivation is a powerful force. I’m talking about is intrinsic motivation. Intrinsically motivated people want to do more simply because it’s possible and not because of a dangling carrot or some other benefit. When a person is intrinsically motivated they will break their back to do great things The best part is that an intrinsically motivated person does more and better work for themselves, but the company, or business, receives benefits as well.
A thirst for knowledge is the most powerful quality of them all. When a person wants to learn they are constantly exercising all of the qualities listed above. These people read, explore, investigate, and ask questions. People with this quality take lessons from everything they do. They study psychology while they people watch in their local coffee shop. People like this constantly bring new ideas and concepts to an organization.
When a company finds someone with these qualities they typically grab them and hold on tight. The best thing a prospective employee can do is prove that they have these qualities. It’s easy to say you did it or can do it. It’s much more powerful to show that you do it. Show…Don’t Tell.
How can you prove that you have these qualities?
