Saturday, April 3, 2010

Flexibility Is a Virtue

I can't tell you how much I appreciate flexibility in a co-worker or teammate. These people are types who are easy to work with, they accept change and run with it instead of fighting against it, they embrace chaos with a smile, they keep complaints to a minimum, and they are not demanding. These types of folks are also typically easy to get along with and generally happy, pleasant people.

Simply put, they make a working girl's life so much easier.

I remember this one time a year or so ago when I thought if it wasn't for a certain individual who had displayed a willingness to just go with the flow given the fast-paced, deadline-driven nature of the given work assignment, I probably would have had to chop my head off or something similarly disastrous. Thank you, thank you to all the flexible people out there, I appreciate you!

This got me to thinking about all the qualities I admire and appreciate most in a co-worker (*sniff* now that I don't have any ... ok, sorry, I'll stop whining now). What qualities do these diamond in the rough people have that I wish I had? What is truly admirable? See my top five list below of qualities that I think would make a gold-standard co-worker (or just general individual) should he/she possess all five:
  • Flexible
  • Cheerful
  • Thoughtful
  • Intelligent
  • Funny

Thoughts? And I don't know about you, but in my opinion, it's not often you get to work with someone who embodies all five of these qualities. Seriously ladies, if a co-worker, friend, relative, or whoever is even one of these things, and genuinely at that, then I am super impressed and totally drawn to that person in hopes that some of it will rub off on me.

What do you think are the most important qualities in a co-worker?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Respectful. I have to sit in a corner of the hallway that is in the most high traffic area of our office. The reception lobby is to the right, the ladie's room is in front of me, the lunch room is to my left and my yelling bosses are all around me. I have a hard time understanding my co-workers when they go into the restroom and have a "private" conversation, yelling and laughing as if the walls are soundproof. I'm on the phone daily with state government officials and other very important people. I wish they would just give me the benefit of the doubt that I AM WORKING when they decided to finish their conversation about the crazy weekend they leaning on my desk. It's REALLY upsetting. I currently don't think I would miss having co-workers if I worked from home because they don't do anything to help me on a daily basis anyway. Not sure this is the response you were looking for, but it was a great time for me to vent.

Katie said...

My preferred qualities in co-workers: competent, quick, insightful, fun, and all-around nice.

MJ said...

For co-workers, I want dependable - people who, when you're working with them on something, do their part of the work and do it well. I shudder to think that those kids in high school who wouldn't do their share of projects are now people's co-workers somewhere.

Tanya Smith said...

I'm with MJ, dependability is key. Integrity also. All the 5 you mentioned make a great person, too!

Content Director - Strong Female Leaders said...

I agree! Flexibility is very important. A willingness to compromise is not a weakness, but a strength.

Also, friendliness is another important quality for a co-worker. I sit by this extremely moody person. And tell you what, the entire quad (we have 4 girls in our cube area) is in a bleak mood when she's on 1 of her "episodes".

Great post!! Looking forward to reading more.

Anne said...

That's totally true! This is such a great blog. Talking about great... I love your layout. It's so clear and simple and... great! Wow.