8 qualities of remarkable employees

Whether you are a manager, an HRD or simply an employee wanting to stand out, this article contains some qualities to look out for.

Skill: Reading     Theme: Human Resources     Level: Advanced (B2+)

Focus before reading

In your opinion, what are the main qualities that would enable an employee to stand out from the crowd? (to distinguish themselves).  Make a list.


Here are the paragraph headings from the article.  Read each one, and make short notes to predict content of each paragraph.  Highlight any paragraph headings you don’t understand and move onto the next one.

  1. They ignore job descriptions
  2. They’re eccentric
  3. But they know when to dial it back*
  4. They publicly praise
  5. And they privately complain
  6. They speak when others won’t
  7. They like to prove others wrong
  8. They’re always fiddling**

Are any of these qualities similar to the ones you listed?  Have you thought of any others you could add to the list?


Now read the article: 8 qualities of remarkable employees

If you print the article, you can use the following annotation method for words you don’t know:

  1. If you don’t know the word, but don’t think you need it to understand the article, cross it out.
  2. If you don’t know the word, but think you can guess the meaning from the context, underline it.
  3. If you don’t know the word, and can’t guess the meaning from the context, highlight it, then look up the meaning.


  • Think about your own workplace.  Do you have any colleagues that demonstrate any of these qualities?
  • Which of these qualities do you have?  Which ones would you like to develop?

*dial something back is an invented expression which we deduce from the context has a similar meaning to tone something down.

**fiddle often has a negative connotation, but that is not intended here.  It means to take something apart in order to find out how it works and then improve it.

Photo Credit: hippydream [is busy] cc

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