As a leader, you’re always looking for the next big project that seems like it came out of left field but will undeniably enhance the way you do business.

And, in that vein, you’re also looking for the star employees. These stars will consistently bring these big ideas to the table.

Part of your job as a leader is to seek out and groom this next generation of leaders.

Game Changers?

People who may someday climb the corporate ladder and take the reins once you’re enjoying retirement.

Leaders refer to these people as the “game changers.” And while leaders want to find these folks, aspiring leaders want to become them.

A game changer:

• Is instrumental to the company
• Produces exceptional work
• Changes the face of the business in a positive way

And as such, a game changer is always an asset to any working environment.

So if you’re a leader, how do you spot a game changer?

And if you’re an aspiring leader, how do you identify the traits that will make you a star at your current or future workplace?

There are a couple key characteristics to look out for and embrace. These will most likely lead to great things for you, your team and your company’s future success.

A Game Changer Doesn’t Care About The “Status Quo”

We’ve discussed before how the phrase “but we’ve always done it this way!” is one of the most detrimental utterings in an office environment.

Well, a game changer will hear this time-tested rationale, shrug their shoulders and reply “well, so what?”

If there’s a more efficient way to accomplish something, a game changer will point it out and disregard that it goes against former procedures.

As the name suggests, game changers aren’t afraid of change. And in fact, they embrace it at every opportunity if it gets the job done on a higher, more successful level.

A Game Changer Is Imaginative

Game changers love to fire up the creative aspects of their brains. For a game changer, the obvious solution isn’t always the best solution.

And while they’ll take the obvious under consideration, they’ll also use their imagination to find new ways to do things that are well outside the realm of what their managers expect.

Let’s say that there’s a report your company does every week that requires manually searching and plugging in numbers.

A game changer might start thinking of ways to automate this data gathering. Think of new formats to present this info in a clearer manner, or question whether the time spent on this report is worth it, to begin with.

People who use creativity whenever possible are always good people to have on a team.

They’re the ones that will deliver those coveted “outside the box” solutions for tasks of all varieties from the mundane to the instrumental.

A Game Changer Is Obsessed With Productivity

A game changer is the person who is looking at their watch when a meeting has gone way off track, and the team is not accomplishing much.

A game changer is also the person who will turn in perfectly acceptable work, and then want to re-do it or re-tool it until it’s not just good, it’s exceptional.

In short, a game-changer is obsessed with productivity.

It may seem a little like OCD on the surface, the way a game changer will tweak and refine until something is “just right,” but it’s also a valuable skill that will enhance any task or assignment that a leader gives them.

Being obsessed about productivity and producing the best results is a trait that’s observed in inventors, powerful entrepreneurs and anyone who has broken the mold on a global scale.

And it’s a trait that will become invaluable for any aspect of your company aspirations. A game changer will keep working until something is the best it can be.

This characteristic of a healthy passion for creating great results whether it’s to design a product or procedure that’s cheaper, more efficient and user-friendly can be applied to virtually all areas of your business.

Game changers are a little rare. It’s a collection of traits that can be recognized, fostered and groomed from any employee or aspiring leader who’s willing to embrace the challenge.

So celebrate the creative types who are never satisfied with just “good.”

They’re the ones who will be your brilliant future leaders, and your game changers, in the years and generations to come.

Are you struggling to find game changers? The WINology Performance Group can help! We will teach you how to be more aware. Contact us today to learn more or visit us online!

How have you discovered game changers in the past? Let us know in the comments section below!