ESDC Competency Dictionary - Personal Attributes
Personal Attributes
- Accountability
- Taking responsibility for one’s own actions and the actions of a group.
- Adaptability
- Being open to change and to considerable variety in the workplace.
- Artistic Expression
- Ability to respond with critical awareness to various forms of the arts and to express oneself through the arts.
- Attention to Detail
- Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. Ability to perceive pertinent detail in verbal or tabular material, to observe differences in copy, to proofread words and numbers, and to avoid perceptual errors in arithmetical computation.
- Authenticity
- Being self-aware and true to oneself in all situations, even when under pressure.
- Charisma
- Possessing a compelling attractiveness that can inspire devotion in others.
- Citizenship - Civic and Community
- Addressing public concerns and promoting the quality of the community (sometimes referred to as civic/community engagement).
- Compassion
- Feeling sympathetic pity for the misfortune of others and a wish to help them.
- Competitiveness
- Possessing a strong desire to be better or more successful than others by comparison.
- Confidence
- Taking charge of situations, people and decisions. Communicating confidently and giving direction.
- Cooperation
- Being pleasant with others on the job, sharing information, and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude in order to achieve a common objective.
- Courage
- Trying new approaches and pushing oneself to work outside one’s personal comfort zone.
- Creativity
- Exploring problems and multiple possibilities without a pre-determined outcome, and having a mindset of growth and continuous learning.
- Dependability
- Being reliable, responsible and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
- Discipline
- Following processes, and operating firmly within set standards, rules and guidelines.
- Efficiency
- Converting resources into results in the most efficient and economical way.
- Emotional Intelligence
- Drawing insight from one’s own emotions and those of others to demonstrate empathy.
- Empathy
- Considering other people's feelings especially when making decisions.
- Entrepreneurship
- Focusing on building and scaling an idea sustainably.
- Focus on Service
- Looking for ways to serve clients, putting their needs at the heart of everything.
- Inclusivity
- Recognizing everyone as an individual, accepting people for who they are and treating everyone fairly. Actively encouraging and providing opportunities for others to share ideas and contributions.
- Independence
- Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
- Influence
- Articulating the rationale to gain the agreement of others.
- Initiative
- Willingness to take on responsibilities, and going above and beyond to take on challenges.
- Integrity
- Being honest and ethical.
- Judgement
- Ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions.
- Leadership
- Willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
- Learning Mindset
- Being inquisitive, seeking out new information and looking for new ways to develop oneself.
- Mediation
- Providing stability and cohesion within teams, and finding common ground and purpose.
- Motivation
- Being driven to achieve for the sake of achievement.
- Openness
- Attitude of proactive disclosure, making information, thoughts, actions, or purposes readily accessible to all or exposed to general view to build trust, foster reuse, and minimize duplication.
- Originality
- Ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Persistence
- Voluntarily and deliberately providing the effort required to accomplish a task or prolonged activity in order to overcome obstacles.
- Resilience
- Ability to recover from difficulties or change – to function as well as before and then move forward. It is often referred to as the ability to ‘bounce back’ from difficulties or challenges.
- Risk-Taking
- Being willing to take risks (calculated or not) in the hope of achieving a desired result.
- Self-Awareness
- Being aware of one’s process of learning.
- Self-Confidence
- Trusting in one’s ability to achieve goals.
- Self-Control
- Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
- Self-Direction
- Demonstrating agency in one’s process of learning, including the development of dispositions that support motivation, perseverance, resilience, and self-regulation.
- Sense of Mission
- Pursuing things that give a sense of meaning and purpose, and working towards a longer term goal.
- Tolerance of Ambiguity
- Perceiving ambiguous situations as desirable and non-threatening.
- Trust in Others
- Establishing and maintaining a sense of trust in one’s human environment, and allowing for the exchange of information and delegation.