Are you a high impact player within your organization, or not?
First, let’s define what it means to be a high impact player in the corpo-rate setting.
Characteristics defining a high impact player
1. Completes work on time, accurately, thoroughly and with professional appearance.
2. Able to quickly and consistently achieve excellent results while increasing the organization’s standards of performance.
3. Has a full understanding of organizational issues affecting corporate performance.
4. Identifies work-related problems and finds, recommends and/or implements effective solutions as appropriate.
5. Takes initiative to find answers, to complete tasks, and takes on new responsibilities.
6. Increases the organization’s performance by initiating and carrying out “win/win” work arrangements with other departments or people.
7. Maintains a positive attitude and encourages others.
8. Contributes to group efforts, and establishes positive working relationships with others.
9. Actively and effectively develops themselves in preparation for more significant future contributions.
10. Effective in providing others with meaningful feedback, resources and encouragement to improve their performance in preparation for more significant future contributions.
As we all know, the best-performing companies typically have the largest number of strong players on their team. So let’s see how strong your team is. Evaluate your team starting with you. Rate your level of demonstrated effectiveness as an employee team member.
In realizing there are many factors we could use to conduct a self evaluation, let’s limit this quick review to the characteristics listed above.
Rate your demonstrated effectiveness according to each of the above characteristics. Five is the best, one is the worst. Use the following rating system.
1. Unsatisfactory…you’re not a fit (this is a nice way of saying you’re failing).
2. Needs improvement…but there’s hope.
3. Effective…you meet and occasionally exceed expectations.
4. Excellent…you consistently exceed expectations.
5. Outstanding…you positively impact the broader organization.
This self evaluation will take you about two minutes, so let’s conduct it right now. On the margin, rate your demonstrated performance according to each of the ten characteristics of a high impact player listed above.
Are you a high impact player?
If you gave yourself a score of 30 to 35, then you are a “player” meaning you are very effective at achieving the goals established for your position. If you gave yourself a score of 36 to 45, then you are an “overachiever” frequently and/or consistently exceeding performance expectations. And finally, if you gave yourself a score in the range of 46 to 50, not only do you consistently exceed performance expectations, but you positively impact the broader organization. You influence others positively while increasing the organization’s standards of performance. If you are in the 46 to 50 range, you are a “high impact player.”
Now that you’ve evaluated yourself, let’s go for a reality check. Ask your manager and a couple of co-workers what they think. Ask them to conduct the quick evaluation on you. See if their observations about your contributions are the same as yours. This is a great exercise because it creates much needed candid dialog within organizations about how to improve operating performance both individually and company-wide.
