What attributes should you look out for for a top performer employee? There are certain attributes that are indispensable no matter where we work or do.<ol><li>Naturally curious</li><li>Innate ability to learn</li><li>Able to turn feedback into action</li><li>Dually autonomous and collaborative</li><li>Empower those around them</li></ol>

The Five Attributes of a Remarkable Employee

<ol><li>Those who are naturally curious are deeply inquisitive so they see beyond the roles and responsibilities.</li><li>An employee's propensity to learn new things quickly is an integral skill because they can absorb information and process it into information that spurs growth.</li><li>How employees react to feedback is what sets them apart from those who take them constructively over others.</li><li>Top performers thrive in many different roles because they are versatile.</li><li>Standout employees are the ones that can make everyone around them better because they are able to empathize with the people they work alongside.</li></ol>

Explaining the importance of the Attributes

How to become a standout employee, as told by a CEO. <div dir="ltr">
	
			Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
	
	</div>I often get asked what I look for in new talent. What makes an employee genuinely invaluable?&nbsp;What differentiates a&nbsp;typical&nbsp;employee from&nbsp;a top performer?&nbsp;It’s&nbsp;a question we’ve all likely asked ourselves at some point throughout our careers.&nbsp;And&nbsp;while&nbsp;every company, field&nbsp;and&nbsp;role&nbsp;requires&nbsp;a unique set of qualifications&nbsp;and technical skills,&nbsp;certain&nbsp;attributes&nbsp;are&nbsp;indispensable&nbsp;no matter&nbsp;where you&nbsp;work&nbsp;or&nbsp;what you&nbsp;do.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Here are&nbsp;the five&nbsp;attributes that characterize a&nbsp;truly&nbsp;remarkable&nbsp;employee.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>1. Naturally curious&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>These individuals are&nbsp;not at your <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/organization" data-ga-category="autotag-linking" data-ga-label="ai-metadata" data-ga-action="/topic/organization" dir="ltr">organization</a> just&nbsp;to do a job, but rather&nbsp;to&nbsp;make&nbsp;their&nbsp;mark on&nbsp;the company&nbsp;as a whole.&nbsp;They are&nbsp;deeply&nbsp;inquisitive, which typically means they see beyond just the roles and responsibilities outlined&nbsp;within&nbsp;a&nbsp;100-word&nbsp;job description.&nbsp;Instead, they view their day-to-day&nbsp;work&nbsp;as a&nbsp;way to further the&nbsp;organization’s&nbsp;vision&nbsp;at large.&nbsp;They&nbsp;inherently&nbsp;connect the dots —understanding that each task,&nbsp;big or small,&nbsp;supports a collective push.&nbsp;&nbsp;These employees are&nbsp;always&nbsp;present. In other words, they bring their whole selves to work&nbsp;and&nbsp;sincerely&nbsp;believe in the impact,&nbsp;and ripple effect,&nbsp;of&nbsp;a job well done.&nbsp;Their&nbsp;penchant&nbsp;to&nbsp;learn&nbsp;and&nbsp;problem-solve is not only&nbsp;admirable, but also&nbsp;insatiable.&nbsp;Looking for&nbsp;creative&nbsp;solutions&nbsp;to business problems is almost like a&nbsp;reflex&nbsp;to them.&nbsp;They are&nbsp;asking themselves&nbsp;the important&nbsp;questions,&nbsp;enabling them to remain proactive before a manager&nbsp;needs to&nbsp;step in — ultimately&nbsp;reducing feedback&nbsp;loops&nbsp;and driving&nbsp;companywide&nbsp;<a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/productivity" data-ga-category="autotag-linking" data-ga-label="ai-metadata" data-ga-action="/topic/productivity" dir="ltr">productivity</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>2. Innate ability to learn&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>The second attribute goes hand-in-hand with the first.&nbsp;An employee’s&nbsp;natural <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/curiosity" data-ga-category="autotag-linking" data-ga-label="ai-metadata" data-ga-action="/topic/curiosity" dir="ltr">curiosity</a> will,&nbsp;in&nbsp;most cases,&nbsp;sharpen&nbsp;his or her&nbsp;ability to learn&nbsp;quickly.&nbsp;Though it may sound&nbsp;straightforward, the propensity to learn new things quickly and effectively is&nbsp;an integral&nbsp;skill.&nbsp;Being able to absorb information rapidly, process it&nbsp;and ultimately translate&nbsp;that new&nbsp;information&nbsp;into action&nbsp;spurs growth at scale.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don’t give too much credence to a prospective employee’s college major. While some roles require technical knowledge, what I’m actually looking for&nbsp;centers around how an individual navigates ambiguity. Can he or she excel during uncertain times? When he or she is faced with&nbsp;an unfamiliar task, is he or she able to adapt in real time? If the last year and a half has taught us all anything, it’s this:&nbsp;The&nbsp;organizations&nbsp;(and people) that&nbsp;are able to acclimate to new&nbsp;circumstances, by way of <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/learning" data-ga-category="autotag-linking" data-ga-label="ai-metadata" data-ga-action="/topic/learning" dir="ltr">learning</a>, are the ones that&nbsp;avert crisis and&nbsp;prevail&nbsp;in the end.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>3. Able to turn&nbsp;feedback into&nbsp;action&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>Feedback is the foundation&nbsp;of&nbsp;any&nbsp;successful relationship, personal or professional. And, while giving feedback can&nbsp;at times&nbsp;be uncomfortable, having&nbsp;hard&nbsp;conversations are&nbsp;imperative,&nbsp;particularly in business.&nbsp;Perfection doesn’t exist, not even&nbsp;among&nbsp;standout&nbsp;employees,&nbsp;so&nbsp;feedback&nbsp;is compulsory&nbsp;and encouraged.&nbsp;What truly sets top performers apart is the way in which they react to feedback.&nbsp;Are they able to see the&nbsp;constructive&nbsp;feedback for what it is? It’s challenging to reconcile with&nbsp;feedback&nbsp;at times; I can&nbsp;attest to this&nbsp;myself.&nbsp;A standout&nbsp;employee, however,&nbsp;uses&nbsp;feedback&nbsp;as a way to&nbsp;tangibly&nbsp;showcase&nbsp;improvement&nbsp;and&nbsp;growth.&nbsp;He or she is abundantly aware of his or her shortcomings&nbsp;and works diligently to transform weaknesses into strengths.&nbsp;The&nbsp;setbacks motivate these employees,&nbsp;ultimately&nbsp;making them&nbsp;stronger and more resilient.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>4. Dually&nbsp;autonomous and collaborative&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>Naturally,&nbsp;people&nbsp;who&nbsp;can&nbsp;work with little or no guidance are&nbsp;exceedingly&nbsp;valuable&nbsp;at work. They take direction well&nbsp;and&nbsp;require&nbsp;no&nbsp;handholding.&nbsp;That being said, top performers are not only autonomous,&nbsp;but&nbsp;they&nbsp;also&nbsp;thrive in&nbsp;group settings. Able to collaborate, share ideas&nbsp;and&nbsp;grind independently, these&nbsp;rare&nbsp;individuals are a double threat — in the best possible way.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ability to work&nbsp;alone and&nbsp;with a group&nbsp;affords&nbsp;them&nbsp;versatility.&nbsp;In other words, they’ll thrive in many different roles at the company — excelling in&nbsp;cross-functional&nbsp;settings.&nbsp;As a CEO, you can assign them a variety of projects and rely&nbsp;on&nbsp;them; as rudimentary as that sounds, it’s critically important.&nbsp;Simply put, teammates respect them, managers trust them,&nbsp;and the organization prospers because of them.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>5. Empower those around them&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>This&nbsp;final attribute&nbsp;may&nbsp;be&nbsp;the most critical.&nbsp;All things considered,&nbsp;real standout employees are the ones that make everyone around them better.&nbsp;If it’s&nbsp;a standout&nbsp;manager or leader,&nbsp;this means developing&nbsp;and nurturing the&nbsp;talent&nbsp;that reports to them. If it’s a junior or entry-level employee,&nbsp;this&nbsp;involves&nbsp;uplifting&nbsp;and&nbsp;inspiring&nbsp;peers they collaborate with regularly.&nbsp;&nbsp;This component leans more on an individual’s <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/emotional-intelligence" data-ga-category="autotag-linking" data-ga-label="ai-metadata" data-ga-action="/topic/emotional-intelligence" dir="ltr">emotional intelligence</a>.&nbsp;Standout employees are able to&nbsp;empathize with the people&nbsp;they work&nbsp;alongside. In&nbsp;a lot of&nbsp;ways, they view their colleagues as an extension of their family. This&nbsp;is&nbsp;because they&nbsp;recognize&nbsp;that when one employee&nbsp;grows&nbsp;and&nbsp;succeeds,&nbsp;it's a win for everyone.&nbsp;In the end, standout employees are&nbsp;simply&nbsp;human,&nbsp;and that&nbsp;humanness is an advantage — not a drawback.&nbsp;&nbsp;

How to become a standout employee, as told by a CEO.  

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How to become a standout employee, as told by a CEO.

I often get asked what I look for in new talent. What makes an employee genuinely invaluable? What differentiates a typical employee from a top performer? It’s a question we’ve all likely asked ourselves at some point throughout our careers. And while every company, field and role requires a unique set of qualifications and technical skills, certain attributes are indispensable no matter where you work or what you do.

Here are the five attributes that characterize a truly remarkable employee.

These individuals are not at your <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/organization">organization </a>just to do a job, but rather to make their mark on the company as a whole. They are deeply inquisitive, which typically means they see beyond just the roles and responsibilities outlined within a 100-word job description. Instead, they view their day-to-day work as a way to further the organization’s vision at large. They inherently connect the dots —understanding that each task, big or small, supports a collective push.

These employees are always present. In other words, they bring their whole selves to work and sincerely believe in the impact, and ripple effect, of a job well done. Their penchant to learn and problem-solve is not only admirable, but also insatiable. Looking for creative solutions to business problems is almost like a reflex to them. They are asking themselves the important questions, enabling them to remain proactive before a manager needs to step in — ultimately reducing feedback loops and driving companywide <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/productivity">productivity </a>.

The second attribute goes hand-in-hand with the first. An employee’s natural <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/curiosity">curiosity </a>will, in most cases, sharpen his or her ability to learn quickly. Though it may sound straightforward, the propensity to learn new things quickly and effectively is an integral skill. Being able to absorb information rapidly, process it and ultimately translate that new information into action spurs growth at scale.

I don’t give too much credence to a prospective employee’s college major. While some roles require technical knowledge, what I’m actually looking for centers around how an individual navigates ambiguity. Can he or she excel during uncertain times? When he or she is faced with an unfamiliar task, is he or she able to adapt in real time? If the last year and a half has taught us all anything, it’s this: The organizations (and people) that are able to acclimate to new circumstances, by way of <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/learning">learning </a>, are the ones that avert crisis and prevail in the end.

Feedback is the foundation of any successful relationship, personal or professional. And, while giving feedback can at times be uncomfortable, having hard conversations are imperative, particularly in business. Perfection doesn’t exist, not even among standout employees, so feedback is compulsory and encouraged. What truly sets top performers apart is the way in which they react to feedback.

Are they able to see the constructive feedback for what it is? It’s challenging to reconcile with feedback at times; I can attest to this myself. A standout employee, however, uses feedback as a way to tangibly showcase improvement and growth. He or she is abundantly aware of his or her shortcomings and works diligently to transform weaknesses into strengths. The setbacks motivate these employees, ultimately making them stronger and more resilient.

Naturally, people who can work with little or no guidance are exceedingly valuable at work. They take direction well and require no handholding. That being said, top performers are not only autonomous, but they also thrive in group settings. Able to collaborate, share ideas and grind independently, these rare individuals are a double threat — in the best possible way.

The ability to work alone and with a group affords them versatility. In other words, they’ll thrive in many different roles at the company — excelling in cross-functional settings. As a CEO, you can assign them a variety of projects and rely on them; as rudimentary as that sounds, it’s critically important. Simply put, teammates respect them, managers trust them, and the organization prospers because of them.

This final attribute may be the most critical. All things considered, real standout employees are the ones that make everyone around them better. If it’s a standout manager or leader, this means developing and nurturing the talent that reports to them. If it’s a junior or entry-level employee, this involves uplifting and inspiring peers they collaborate with regularly.

This component leans more on an individual’s <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/emotional-intelligence">emotional intelligence </a>. Standout employees are able to empathize with the people they work alongside. In a lot of ways, they view their colleagues as an extension of their family. This is because they recognize that when one employee grows and succeeds, it's a win for everyone. In the end, standout employees are simply human, and that humanness is an advantage — not a drawback.

5 Ways to Become a Top Performer at Any Company

The Five Attributes of a Remarkable Employee

Explaining the importance of the Attributes

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