By Haden's telling, great employees have these qualities:
- They ignore job descriptions. .
- They’re eccentric...
- But they know when to dial it back.
- They publicly praise...
- And they privately complain.
- They speak when others won’t.
- They like to prove others wrong.
- They’re always fiddling.
I have managed units that had eccentric people. I'm careful to say I didn't manage people, and certainly not an eccentric. As oft said: "things are managed; people are led". In fact, eccentrics are to be tolerated at least, and nurtured at best. You never know what will turn up.
As a case in point, take a look at the famous Bell Labs where the transistor was invented and Claude Shannon discovered the limits of bandwidth. Talk about eccentrics! Like shooting fish in a barrel
