The document outlines 11 qualities of "A" players as observed by an executive coach. "A" players respect others' time by arriving early to meetings prepared. They think ahead of their bosses by researching their needs and anticipating next moves. They maximize their strengths and proactively use them, while also being self-aware of weaknesses from feedback to improve. "A" players embrace rather than fear change, are lifelong learners, and surround themselves with other top performers while also mentoring others.

1. HOW TO BECOME
In my 12 years of experience as an executive coach, I have met hundreds of “A” players.
They are professional knowledge workers at all levels, from management trainees to chief executives.
They are great at their work and have good people skills.
I notice that most of them have the following qualities in common:
AN “A” PLAYER.

2. In any appointment or meeting, they are the early birds. This demonstrates
the accountability of the true professional. Showing up on time not enough.
They usually come earlier: to prepare, to rehearse, to plan for contingencies,
and most importantly to meet the other participants prior to the formal event.
1. THEY RESPECT THE TIME OF OTHERS.

3. They research their boss’s needs, motivation, styles and values. They
learn what media their boss consumes and what people are in the boss’s
inner circle. Then, they can anticipate their boss’s next move and prepare
their work accordingly.
2. THEY THINK ONE STEP AHEAD OF THEIR BOSSES.

4. They identify their core strengths and use them beyond the immediate requirements of their
job responsibility. For example, if one of your strengths is analyzing competitive trends and
you’re responsible for preparing a monthly report on the competition outlook, you and
weekly competitive monitoring without having to be asked. Every quarter, you prepare a
quarterly competitive analysis with additional interesting material that will make every
stakeholder say ”Wow” The more you use your strength proactively, the more others will be
able to spot your potential
3. THEY MAXIMIZE THEIR STRENGTHS.

5. Nobody is perfect, we all have some blind spots. Most ”A” players learn
about their blind spots by listening to others’ feedback. Then they
modify their behavior appropriately.
4. THEY POSSESS A HEALTHY EGO, CONFIDENT IN THEIR SKILLS
BUT SUFFICIENTLY SELF-AWARE OF THE NEED FOR
CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK.

6. They learn as much as they can about their weaknesses their bosses during
daily interaction and through formal performance evaluation. They work
around their weaknesses early on in their careers, in particular soft skills
such as listening skills or emotional quotient (EQ). If they learn that they
possess too many weakness in the role, they recognize that they’re in the
wrong place. They move on to another role that better fits their strengths.
5. THEY MANAGE THEIR WEAKNESS.

7. “A” players realize that the danger of gossip lies in surrounding
themselves with people who have negative attitudes. It only leads them
to be seen as negative.
6. THEY AVOID GOSSIP.

8. “A” players are ambitious-but not for power. They’re ambitious for the great
good. To achieve individual targets is not enough if the whole team doesn’t
achieve.
7. THEY’RE TEAM PLAYERS.

9. They understand that change is inevitable. Instead of doubting the need for an
organizational change, they are the ones who volunteer for the working team to
help carry out the change. Once they’re on the team, there are several benefits.
For example, they will learn more about the future of the organization.
8. “A” PLAYERS AREN’T AFRAID OF CHANGE,
THEY EMBRACE IT.

10. “A” players are curious, eager to learn. They know that to succeed as
knowledge workers, they need to upgrade their brainpower all the time,
because knowledge can quickly become obsolete.
9. THEY ARE LIFELONG LEARNERS.

11. When they were young, they tried to be in the place that was full of smart
people. The majority of “A” players are the youngest in the meeting room.
They serve smart people and learn from them.
10. THEY SURROUND THEMSELVES
WITH OTHER “A” PLAYERS.

12. Usually, “A” players are great at recruiting other “A” players to work with
them. Then, they provide coaching and mentoring to nurture them. They also
enjoy coaching and mentoring people outside their direct responsibility.
11.THEY PASS ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE,
EXPERIENCE AND WISDOM TO OTHERS.

13. KRIENGSAK NIRATPATTANASAI : PROVIDES
Executive coaching in leadership And diversity management under the brand Thecoach. He can br reached at
coachkriengsak@yahoo.com. Daily insprirational quotations can be found on his Facebook fan page:
//www.facebook.com/Thecoachinth. Previous articles are archived at http://thecoach.in.th