Over the last 3 years, I’ve had the privilege of hiring 80+ high performers.

And here’s the surprising part: their resumes didn’t always predict their success. Some didn’t have elite colleges or flashy titles. But once they joined, they completely changed the game.

Why? Because of traits you can’t measure in an interview scorecard but you can sense when you see them in action.

Here are the 8 rare traits I’ve seen in every high performer I’ve worked with:

1. Grit

I’ve seen people with incredible degrees fail when pressure hits. And I’ve seen ordinary resumes produce extraordinary results.

The difference? Grit.

One hire worked 11 months on a project riddled with failures. The client kept shifting expectations. The internal systems broke down. Deadlines were pushed, again and again. Many others would’ve quit.

He didn’t complain. He problem-solved. He outlasted the chaos. That project ended up generating 10X the revenue we expected.

That’s grit: staying in the game when most people walk out.

2. Relentless Resourcefulness

High performers don’t freeze when the path isn’t clear. They create the path.

I once had a candidate on a supply-chain project where a vendor crisis threatened to shut everything down. Instead of escalating endlessly, he picked up the phone and called 20+ vendors across time zones himself. By morning, we had a solution.

That’s resourcefulness: not waiting for permission, not making excuses just finding a way forward.

Ask yourself: When faced with a wall, do you stop… or do you climb, dig, or go around it?

3. Optimism

When the going gets tough, pessimism spreads like wildfire in teams. One negative person can sink morale.

But high performers bring something rare: rational optimism.

During a high-pressure product launch delay, one teammate kept repeating: “If it’s this hard, it must be worth it.” That single line kept the team steady during sleepless nights.

Optimism here isn’t blind hope, it’s the courage to believe the future can be better if we act today. And that belief spreads.

4. Constant Learning

In today’s world, what you know today is outdated tomorrow.

The best hires I’ve seen never stop learning. They devour feedback. They shadow experts. They spend weekends mastering new skills instead of coasting on what they already know.

One young analyst I hired used to end every project review with: “What’s one thing I could’ve done better?” Within a year, he was outperforming people twice his experience.

That’s the power of compounding curiosity.

5. Respect for People

Call it humility, empathy, or just basic decency. It matters more than people admit.

I once had to let go of a brilliant performer, not because of results, but because of behaviour. He was arrogant, dismissive, and toxic to teammates. The cost to morale was too high.

Since then, I’ve made it a rule: No amount of intelligence can compensate for a lack of respect.

High performers collaborate, empathize, and bring others along with them. That’s how real progress happens.

6. Fun to Work With

Work gets intense. Pressure is real. But with the right people, intensity doesn’t feel heavy.

I’ve worked with teammates who brought humour into even the toughest situations, a quick joke, a funny anecdote, or just light-hearted energy that reset the room.

One colleague used to share his “weekend fail story” at Monday meetings. It kept us grounded, reminded us we’re human, and helped the team bond.

Performance isn’t just about KPIs. It’s also about the environment that fuels them.

7. Growth Mindset

Failures are inevitable. The difference lies in how people react to them.

I look for teammates who say: “I don’t know this yet… but I’ll figure it out.”

That one word - yet - is the hallmark of a growth mindset.

I’ve seen people with less technical skill outgrow “experts” in 18 months, simply because they embraced challenges instead of running from them. They weren’t fixated on the outcome. They were obsessed with the process of getting better.

That mindset makes them unstoppable.

8. Ownership

This is the trait that separates good employees from great leaders.

High performers don’t wait to be chased. They own outcomes.

I once delegated a client-critical report and expected to follow up every step of the way. Instead, the teammate came back not only with the report, but also a risk analysis and a roadmap for improvement. No one asked him to.

Ownership means saying, “This is mine and I’ll see it through.” And when people take ownership, trust skyrockets.

Looking back, I realize: I could always train people on tools, systems, and processes. But these traits? They were the non-negotiables.

If you’re building your career, cultivate them. If you’re building a team, hire for them.

Because in the end, skills may get you noticed, but traits make you unforgettable.

If this resonated, share it with someone in your network who needs to hear it.

📩 Subscribe to my LinkedIn Newsletter for weekly reflections on leadership, growth, and career clarity.

🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn and share it with someone at a crossroads in their career.

🐦 Follow my bite-sized thoughts on Twitter

#Leadership #ProjectManagement #LessonsFromExperience #CareerGrowth #CorporateLife