Seven Characteristics of Highly Effective Entrepreneurial Employees

Ability to Deal With Risk. An entrepreneur has to operate effectively in an environment filled with risk. The Right Stuff Employee can deal with risk and uncertainty. He is able to make progress towards goals and is able to make decisions when lacking one or several critical resources or data.

Results Oriented. The Right Stuff Employee is results oriented, she takes ownership to get the task done. She is a "can do" person who demonstrates common sense in her decision and actions and is able to cut through and resolve problems that divert others. Her business judgment is sound and becomes stronger with each experience, decision or recommendation. While supervisors and managers may disagree with her ultimate recommendation, they usually agree that the alternatives she presents are reasonable for the situation at hand.

Energy. The Right Stuff Employee has high levels of enthusiasm and energy; he consistently generates output that is higher than could be reasonably expected. He is fully committed to the organization, its goals and overall success.

Not only does he desire to make a contribution to results, he needs to see the results of his contributions quickly, not measured in years! He will seek out an organization that solicits and acts upon his ideas, gives credit where credit is due and points out errors and poor decisions quickly and clearly. He performs effectively with limited supervision and is able to self-motivate and set priorities with minimal guidance.

Growth Potential. The Right Stuff Employee's reach exceeds her grasp today. Today's Right Stuff Employee is often next year's supervisor and a department manager soon thereafter. She is willing to accept much higher levels of responsibility that is the norm for her position, title, experience level or salary. She acts as a strong role model, trains and coaches others, and soon begins to assume supervisory responsibilities, again much earlier than would be expected in a normal corporate environment.

Team Player. The Right Stuff Employee is a true team player, she recognizes how her role contributes to the overall effort and success of the organization. She accepts accountability and ownership for her area of responsibility and expects others on the team to do the same. She also recognizes the roles and contributions of others and applauds their efforts sincerely.

Multitasking Ability. The Right Stuff Employee is flexible to accept new duties, assignments and responsibilities. He can perform more than one role until the incremental duties and functions assumed can be assigned to co-workers in newly defined roles. He is also willing to dig in and do grunt work tasks which eventually will be performed by lower level employees.

Improvement Oriented. The Right Stuff Employee is more than willing to challenge in a constructive way existing procedures and systems; to her the status quo is temporary. She suggests changes and improvements frequently and encourages others to do so also.

Multitasking - Person having many hands :)

You’re working on two projects at once, while your boss has placed two new demands on your desk। You’re on the phone while three new emails come in. You are trying to get out the door on time so you can pick up a few groceries on the way home for dinner. Your Blackberry is going off and so is your cell phone. Your co-worker stops by with a request for info and your Google Reader is filled with 100+ messages to read.

You are juggling tasks with a speed worthy of Ringling Bros. Congratulations, multitasker.

In this age of instant technology, we are bombarded with an overload of information and demands of our time. This is part of the reason GTD is so popular in the information world — it’s a system designed for quick decisions and for keeping all the demands of your life in order. But even if we are using GTD, sometimes we are so overwhelmed with things to do that our system begins to fall apart.

Life Hack recently posted How to Multi-task, and it’s a good article on the nature of multi-tasking and how to do it while still focusing on one task at a time.

This post is How NOT to Multi-task — a guide to working as simply as possible for your mental health.

First, a few quick reasons not to multi-task:

1. Multi-tasking is less efficient, due to the need to switch gears for each new task, and the switch back again.
2. Multi-tasking is more complicated, and thus more prone to stress and errors.
3. Multi-tasking can be crazy, and in this already chaotic world, we need to reign in the terror and find a little oasis of sanity and calm.

Here are some tips on how NOT to multi-task:

1. First set up to-do lists for different contexts (i.e. calls, computer, errands, home, waiting-for, etc.) depending on your situation.
2. Have a capture tool (such as a notebook) for instant notes on what needs to be done.
3. Have a physical and email inbox (as few inboxes as possible) so that all incoming stuff is gathered together in one place (one for paper stuff, one for digital).
4. Plan your day in blocks, with open blocks in between for urgent stuff that comes up. You might try one-hour blocks, or half-hour blocks, depending on what works for you. Or try this: 40 minute blocks, with 20 minutes in between them for miscellaneous tasks.
5. First thing in the morning, work on your Most Important Task. Don’t do anything else until this is done. Give yourself a short break, and then start on your next Most Important Task. If you can get 2-3 of these done in the morning, the rest of the day is gravy.
6. When you are working on a task in a time block, turn off all other distractions. Shut off email, and the Internet if possible. Shut off your cell phone. Try not to answer your phone if possible. Focus on that one task, and try to get it done without worrying about other stuff.
7. If you feel the urge to check your email or switch to another task, stop yourself. Breathe deeply. Re-focus yourself. Get back to the task at hand.
8. If other things come in while you’re working, put them in the inbox, or take a note of them in your capture system. Get back to the task at hand.
9. Every now and then, when you’ve completed the task at hand, process your notes and inbox, adding the tasks to your to-do lists and re-figuring your schedule if necessary. Process your email and other inboxes at regular and pre-determined intervals.
10. There are times when an interruption is so urgent that you cannot put it off until you’re done with the task at hand. In that case, try to make a note of where you are (writing down notes if you have time) with the task at hand, and put all the documents or notes for that task together and aside (perhaps in an “action” folder or project folder). Then, when you come back to that task, you can pull out your folder and look at your notes to see where you left off.
11. Take deep breaths, stretch, and take breaks now and then. Enjoy life. Go outside, and appreciate nature. Keep yourself sane.

Workaholic - One who has a compulsive and unrelenting need to work.

One of the main differences between a motivated worker and a workaholic is perspective. A well-adjusted worker realizes that his job is only one element of his identity. Once the work is done, the workplace is replaced with a fulfilling home life.
For a workaholic, on the other hand, her job title becomes a much larger percentage of her identification. There is no such thing as 'leaving the workplace' - there is work and there is a very long break. A true workaholic usually has difficulty dividing work life from home life.
Some people may consider someone who works extremely long hours to be a workaholic, but that has not proven to be entirely true. Certain occupations require a significant time commitment, such as the medical or legal professions, but a workaholic is not defined by the raw number of hours spent at work. A workaholic is more likely to volunteer for overtime hours or agree to take on a large project late in the week. Salaried employees may feel an obligation to work long hours, but a workaholic often feels extremely anxious or depressed if he does not work until exhausted.
One self-test to determine whether you are a true workaholic is to observe your behavior outside of work. Make a mental note of how many work-related conversations you start with other people. Do you insist on discussing the poor performances of your co-workers or employer? Is your sleeping disrupted by work-related thoughts? Do you find yourself driving by your workplace during off-hours? If so, you may very well be a workaholic, or at least a workaholic in training.
Unlike an active alcoholic or substance abuser, a workaholic is not automatically penalized for pursuing his or her addiction on the job. A workaholic's addiction is the job. Company policy may prohibit alcohol or drugs on the premises, but it doesn't always address performing too much work. Counseling a workaholic often requires sensitivity on the part of the employer, since losing such a motivated employee could be detrimental. A true workaholic may need to seek professional counseling in order to determine the root causes of her compulsion to work.