In any job, there are clearly those who rise to the top quickly and are known by everyone as high performers. These individuals are called upon, time after time, to make important decisions, lead important projects, and deliver results in the most intense, high-pressure situations. Throughout my career as a Marketing/Data/Business Analyst, these are the common traits that I’ve observed, regardless of position:

• Double Check Your Work

  Top performers will never send out work that they have not reviewed at least once after creating. No matter how much of an expert you believe that you are or how much you believe that you just “do not make mistakes”, we are human and mistakes are bound to happen. Top performers each have their own methods of reviewing the work that they’ve done before it is ready to be viewed by others. This review process can take many forms such as a checklist, cross footing, or reviewing with a colleague, but it is essential to being a trusted worker and top performer.

• Focus On Quality Above All Else

  No matter how fast work must be completed or how much you need to hit a deadline, a work that lacks quality will not get you noticed. While it’s true that hitting deadlines is a trait of a top performer, it must come second to quality. Quality can take many forms, but from my experience, the first step of quality is actually making sure that your work is accurate. Once you’ve ensured that your work doesn’t have errors, you can then focus on things like the quality of the research or the quality of the assumptions behind your work. Did you lack in your research on a specific component of the work? If someone went through your work in detail, what’s an area that they could poke holes in? Focus on quality and you will be recognized.

• Over Deliver

  If you’ve double checked your work for accuracy and ensured that the work is high quality, the final step is to over deliver. No matter what was promised or agreed to, add something extra that will “wow” your colleague, boss, or customer. If you make this a practice, forcing yourself to make everything you do just a bit better each time, you will be the one that people go to. You will be the person that people can count on to do amazing work.

In my experience, if you follow these techniques/principles, you will have a very successful/rewarding career and will be among the few top performers in your company.