This document outlines 10 behaviors of effective employees. They are: 1) be visibly passionate, 2) be aggressively open-minded, 3) draw a frame around yourself but don't restrain, 4) become company smart, 5) learn who your customers are, 6) improve processes from the customer perspective, 7) do what you say you will, 8) communicate well, 9) add skills, and 10) be brave by challenging norms and trying new ways of working. Effective employees have the right attitude in addition to skills, are passionate yet open-minded, focus on customers by improving processes, communicate well, continuously add skills, and are brave in challenging conventions.

1. 10 BEHAVIOURS
OF
EFFECTIVE
EMPLOYEES
by Rob Lambert
www.cultivatedmanagement.com

3. IT’S THE PERSON
NOT JUST THE SKILLS
Attitude.
Belief.
Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Relentless pursuit of improvement.
Alignment to the purpose.

4. DEREK
He’s awesome at everything.
Truly awesome.

5. RESUME =
AWESOME
He has an ISTQB, MSDN, CBPBOS,
APB, MIT, ATM, DTT

6. HE GETS THE
JOB
Almost every job he goes for.
He is hirable.

7. DEREK IS
TALENTED
However:
• He is overlooked
• He quits jobs often
• His contracts don’t get renewed

8. DEREK IS
Hirable.
And seemingly relevant.
He has the right skills.
But he doesn’t have the right
attitude.

9. STOP KILLING
MY
CREATIVITY
Stop telling me what to build, I
want to decide.

10. GIVE ME 6
MONTHS
I’LL DELIVER
WOW

11. DEV IS
MINE
“Fight Agile to the
DEATH!”

12. IT
SUCKS
A tester told me this
once, yet his colleague
was thriving in that
team.

13. THAT’S NOT IN
MY JOB
DESCRIPTION

14. QUITTING
IS
TRENDY
The grass is seldom
greener on the other side.

15. BAD WORK
EXISTS
Not everyone can choose to avoid
bad work.
Avoiding “bad work” often means
running away from change and
opportunities.

16. IF NOT SKILLS?
THEN WHAT?

17. 10
BEHAVIOURS

18. 1. VISIBLY
PASSIONATE
Show your passion
in a positive fashion

19. 2. BE
AGGRESSIVEL
Y
OPEN-MINDED

20. “It seems to me that beliefs about the future are
so rarely correct that they usually aren't worth
the extra rigidity they impose, and that the best
strategy is simply to be aggressively open-
minded.
Instead of trying to point yourself in the right
direction, admit you have no idea what the right
direction is, and try instead to be super
sensitive to the winds of change.”
Paul Graham – How to be an expert in a changing world
http://paulgraham.com/ecw.html

21. 3. DRAW A
FRAME
AROUND
YOURSELF
Draw a frame - but don’t restrain

22. Opportunities, business problems
and learning exist between roles

23. 4. GET
SMART
Become company smart
Right from the start

24. With a wider awareness
You will be surprised less often

25. 5. WHO’S THE
CUSTOMER?
Who do you work for?
Who buys the service?
Who uses the software?
What values do they have?
What do they expect from you?

26. 6. IMPROVE
THE
PROCESS
Relentlessly…but from your
customer’s perspective

27. Here’s a story of a process
improvement that helped a
company report on customer
cases.

28. Improving the process is part of
your job.
Here’s a (seemingly) simple way
to do it:
1. Observe the process
2. Fix the process
3. Bring in IT
Via John Seddon - Vanguard

29. 7. DO WHAT
YOU
SAY YOU WILL
If you say you’ll do it.
Do it. (DOD, Feedback)
Integrity is important.

30. 8. COMMUNICATE
WELL
Become uber great
and learn how to communicate

31. Communicate. Communicate.
Communicate.
Purpose
Audience
Context
Understanding Non-Verbal
communication is a
SUPERPOWER

32. 9. ADD
SKILLS
Skill + Skill + Skill
= Value

33. “If you think extraordinary talent and a
maniacal pursuit of excellence are necessary
for success, I say that’s just one approach,
and probably the hardest. When it comes to
skills, quantity often beats quality.”
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big:
By Scott Adams

34. Testing + Support + Technical Writing
Testing + Coding + Teaching
Testing + Management
Testing + Marketing + Coaching
Testing + Foreign Language

35. 10. BE
BRAVE
• Don’t be afraid to challenge the
norms and status-quo
• Don’t be afraid to try new ways
of working

36. TEN
BEHAVIOURS
1. Be Visibly Passionate
2. Be Aggressively Open-Minded
3. Draw A Frame Around Yourself
4. Become Company Smart
5. Learn Who Your Customers Are
6. Improve The Process
7. Do What You Say You Will
8. Communicate
9. Add Skills
10. Be Brave

37. THANK YOUBlog
www.cultivatedmanagement.com
Twitter
@rob_lambert