Job Success Recipe – 7 Common Traits of High-Performers and How to Spot Them

Talentlush | July 28, 2021

Have you ever asked what the best people do differently from others that helps them achieve job success and perform well at work, producing top results?

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As a business owner, hiring manager, or recruiter, have you identified the common traits of achievers and performers—the recipe that makes one hire more successful than others? Understanding these traits is crucial for bringing the right talents on board. 

Recruitment has been around for many years, involving numerous trials and errors, surveys, observations, and shared practices to identify what separates top performers from the rest. In my over a decade of combined experience in Recruiting, HR, and Training/Teaching —I’ve repeatedly tested various frameworks available in the market. Through these experiences, I have identified the common attributes that high performers possess, which are distinct from others. This insight is based on Quality of Hire metrics, measuring how many people were hired and what percentage performed after three months, six months, and one year.

What I’ll be sharing with you has undergone 30 years of extensive review, trial, and error by the originators of the Performance-based Hiring framework, Lou Adler. It has proven effective for me, among many other available frameworks. This method is applied by both large and small companies worldwide.

Now, let’s dive in!

To ensure you get it right, you need to define (as clear as crystal) a “high-performer profile”—what common traits do high achievers and top performers have, and what do they do differently?

Your “high-performer profile” should outline everything about the high-performing candidates you’ll look for, from the types of results they produce to their behavioral aspects and traits. Creating your high-performer profile—envisioning it in your mind and putting it into writing—is vital for reaching your target market. You want to attract top people to apply (who are more selective than others) and not the mediocre or average performers who are merely seeking a job for economic reasons.

This differs from the “ideal candidate profile” (which we’ll discuss in detail in the next article) that is more specific to the role and covers various aspects such as job-specific competencies, motivation to do the actual role, and manager fit.

In recruitment, talent development, and employee performance management, always keep these seven pointers in mind; they’re your quick guide to spotting top talents.

Let’s dissect them one by one in detail.

1. Results-Oriented

First, look at the results that the best candidates produce.

The top performers consistently exceed expectations based on the company’s investment in them.

They contribute significantly to the company’s success and consistently surpass expectations. Examples include consistently hitting or exceeding sales quotas, streamlining processes for better efficiency, or developing talents who get promoted.

Examples:

• For a trainee, learning to conduct a sales demo faster than their counterparts.
• Consistently hitting and even exceeding sales quotas.
• Streamlining processes to make them more efficient and produce better output.
• For a manager, developing talents who become masters in their roles and get promoted.

In interviews, ask, “In your entire career (or at your current company), what are the top three exceptional results or most significant accomplishments you’ve achieved? Can you walk me through those exceptional results?” Evaluate whether each example is strong or merely meets the minimum requirements of the job. Also, ensure you do reference checks to verify these points if they pass other stages.

2. Problem-Solving and Thinking Skills

The best people have strong thinking skills—they can rapidly learn and visualize what needs to be done to achieve results or address issues. They anticipate possible problems and act proactively. Even if they don’t know about a particular task, they can identify the process to get the necessary information and act accordingly.

Examples:

• They visualize resources and information needed for results and proactively seek help.
• Anticipate and act before problems occur.
• Identify processes to get required information and act based on that.

Identify these skills through problem-solving questions in interviews—the “how would you” questions—and anchor them with past comparable experiences. As interviews can be subjective, supplement them with various tools such as simulations or professional tasks to gauge problem-solving skills, learning agility assessments, and drive for mastery, focus, perseverance, open-mindedness, inquisitiveness, and planning.

3. Highly Driven

The best performers have an innate urge to attain goals or satisfy needs to achieve and perform. Spot this by asking for three examples of accomplishments where they went the extra mile or exceeded role requirements.

Examples:

• Initiating projects that make work easier, faster, leaner, more efficient, or cost-saving.
• Consistently doing more than job requirements and showing patterns of high achievement in past roles.

Talents who are driven always do more than the requirements of the job and you can see patterns in their previous works. This doesn’t mean working more hours and being overworked though. It could be initiating projects and initiatives that make work easier, faster, leaner, more efficient, save cost, etc. 

4. Proactive and Delivery-Oriented

The best performers deliver what they promise. They visualize the needs of a task or project and the resources required and produce the expected output regardless of circumstances. They hold planning sessions with themselves and others, set specific goals with deadlines, and value deadlines to increase efficiency and prevent procrastination.

Examples:

• Setting and meeting specific goals and deadlines.
• Successfully planning and executing projects despite challenges.
• Holding planning sessions and setting goals with themselves and their team

Gauge this by asking candidates about their past planning at work or projects they have planned. After that, ask which plans materialized and, if not, identify the circumstances to evaluate if they’re making excuses or faced uncontrollable situations.

5. Self-Development and Coaching

High performers have strong records of helping others grow and developing themselves. They may train specific technical or soft skills or guide teammates and coworkers. Ask them for the names of people they’ve coached—better if they’re peers. Self-development can also include learning new skills, initiatives that grow their expertise, or even post-graduate studies.

Examples:

• Learning new skills not required for the job or pursuing post-graduate studies.
• Training specific technical skills or soft skills.
• Guiding teammates and coworkers in navigating their roles and the company.

6. Adaptability to Change and Culture Fit

High performers handle ambiguity and change well. They think creatively to explore different avenues for dealing with change. Identify the types of organizational cultures they’ve been part of and check for compatibility with your current company culture.

Examples:

• Thriving in different organizational cultures such as dynamic and fast-paced or hierarchical and traditional.
• Demonstrating creativity in exploring different avenues for dealing with change.
• Successfully adapting to varying company cultures.

Notice variations in culture types—dynamic and fast-paced, hierarchical and traditional, clannish—and whether they performed well in each. This reflects their ability to adapt to varying cultures.
They know how to face ambiguity and changes. They think creatively to explore different avenues as a way of dealing with change.

7. Accountability: Get it done – no excuses.

The best performers set high standards for themselves. They view excuses as lies, take responsibility for their actions, and admit mistakes. They also set high standards of accountability for others. They don’t just follow through with planned tasks and events; they follow up to ensure the value received was worth the time and effort. They always question if they’re making the best possible use of their time.

Examples:

• Setting high standards for themselves and others.
• Taking responsibility for their actions and admitting mistakes.
• Following up on tasks to ensure value and efficiency.

People with these attributes are the talents we want for our team, departments, and company. They produce results, get things done, deliver, and contribute to your organization’s success—and your success as a hiring manager, recruiter, or business owner.

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