20 Traits of the Great-Trait 2 Knowledge Seekers
Michael Smith
Facilitator HR Mobility Peer Group, VP Sales & Service AHI Corporate Housing, Entrepreneur in Residence The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce
Achieving Greatness can be Simple---It just isn't Easy
Words people use to describe them
? Knowledge Seeker: Lifelong learners, open to new ideas, listen to others, hear brutal truths, willing to admit what they don’t know, dedicated students, avid readers, pay attention, seek answers, have a library card, enjoy Ted Talks, follow thought leaders, attend online classes, participate in workshops, attend seminars
The GREAT understand that to Seek Knowledge is a journey and not a destination. The amount of knowledge available to you today is expanding at accelerating rates. It’s available to you in more formats than ever before, yet studies show that fewer and fewer adults read or study any nonfiction material that they aren’t forced to. The following are tips to help you develop this trait in yourself. Start by asking the GREAT people that are your mentors what they’re reading, listening to, or watching—then do the same yourself. Second, go to the library and see what the most popular business books or materials are—then check them out yourself and stay up to date with the trends and thoughts of business leaders. Check out Ted Talks, pod casts, etc. Look at what the GREAT you know are following on LinkedIn.
If you’re a leader the most important task you have is to build a team with the traits of the GREAT. With GREAT coaching you can help some of the GOOD move to GREATNESS—but it’s more effective to put most of the work into building a team of the GREAT than to coach the GOOD up. Find out in the selection process what people are doing to grow themselves before you hire. If you skip that step and add them to your team, then you’ve committed to forcing people to do their homework versus being a coach to point them in the right direction