Everyone in the workplace agrees that really good employees are rarer than the proverbial chicken teeth. It doesn’t matter if you’re an employee yourself, or a manager wondering how to truly find a great employee to fill a role, you know that great employees come at a premium.

What exactly is it that makes an employee great? These top ten traits give some ideas to employers looking to hire and, of course, employees who want to operate at the top of their game:

1. Reliability: Great employees are always dependent. They do the job they are supposed to do every time, and no one has to worry about them not delivering the products. A great employee can be counted on to always do his job well, when he’s supposed to; it’s a foregone conclusion that it will, and no one else has to waste time worrying about it.
2. Team spirit: Great employees are team players. They don’t constantly seek attention or hog the spotlight. Rather, a great employee works with others to make sure that the things that need to be done get done, for the good of the company.
3. Taking Direction: Great employees know how to take direction. They know how to accept criticism, instructions, and advice with grace and make it work for them when they do their jobs.
4. Trust: Great employees don’t spread office gossip and don’t tell dirty company stuff. Likewise, they always tell their employer the truth, even if it gets them in trouble.
5. Confidentiality – This, of course, is strongly related to number 4. Great employees always protect the confidential nature of their business and protect everyone’s privacy.
6. Participation: Great Employees participate in the day to day of the office. They don’t withdraw from meetings or skip office birthday celebrations. These things may not be a fun part of working life, and everyone involved knows that everyone else has somewhere they’d rather be, but a great employee wouldn’t be anywhere else.
7. Likability: Great employee gets along with other employees. Every office has one person who is into everyone else’s business and talks very loud on the phone and generally stirs things up and gets under everyone’s skin. This type of employee affects office morale: a great employee is a good coworker to everyone.
8. Competition: Great employees have good job skills. It may sound obvious, but a great employee has the necessary skills to do their job and is constantly looking for ways to improve, such as attending training seminars or pursuing higher education. Great workers have great skills.
9. Tact: Great employees have tact and decorum. If there’s a problem in the office, a great employee doesn’t make a scene in front of everyone else. A great employee will deal with these issues with privacy and diplomacy. Also, a great employee doesn’t tell tasteless, political or religious jokes, or send emails that tell such jokes.
10. Attitude: Last but not least, great employees have a great attitude. Bad attitudes bring everyone down. A great employee helps make the job great for everyone else by having a good spirit at work.

That’s a lot of good traits to try and acquire! Don’t be discouraged if you can’t match a number (but hopefully not all!) of them. Work through them one at a time and you will find your career progressing faster than you would have thought possible.