A couple of months ago, I posed a simple question on Facebook – “Other than our technical skills, what quality do you consider the most important asset that we should possess to succeed in our fields?”
Interestingly, we all put a ton of time into improving our knowledge and technical skills, and that is always a good thing! Â But perhaps we sometimes need to take a step back and work on some of the non-technical aspects of our professions to take us to the next level.
Your Thoughts
The response from that Facebook post was great, with many people providing fantastic input. Â Here is a screenshot of that discussion:
Our Most Important Qualities
Based on this, it looks like the group vote would be that the below qualities (in no particular order) are really something we should all possess:
- Passion and charisma
- Positive attitude
- Humility and open mindedness
- Good communication and people skills
- Empathy, compassion, and selflessness
- Good work ethic and accessibility
- Adaptability and a passion for self development
- Habit of continuously asking “why” and integrate evidence
Wow, I wish I knew all of this when I started my career! Â This should really be a class we all have to take in college. Â Please continue this discussion in the comments section below, I’d love to hear what you think and any other ideas you may have.
Next week, I’ll discuss what I feel are some the of the best qualities that many experts in our fields possess. Â As you can imagine, there will be significant overlap! Â More importantly, I’ll try to suggest who we can emulate and learn from to enhance these qualities in ourselves. Â Maybe this will be a “home study” version of that college class we should of all had to take!
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