04.07.T01-RS — Reflection Scorecard: Becoming a Value-Adding Employee

Reflecting on My Contribution as an Employee

This chapter explores practical ways through which employees can add value to their teams, departments and organisations. Through the experiences of an airline commercial manager and the story of Naaman's servant girl, we see how ordinary employees can make extraordinary contributions when they approach their work intentionally.

As you complete this Reflection Scorecard, reflect on the lessons from this chapter and consider how they apply to your own work, career and organisation.

Part A: Understanding Value Addition

1. Before reading this chapter, how did you define a value-adding employee?

2. How has this chapter changed your understanding of value addition?

3. Which example from the airline story impressed you most? Why?

4. What did you learn from Naaman's servant girl about adding value regardless of one's position?

Part B: Developing an Intrapreneurial Mindset

5. What did you learn about treating your employer's organisation as though it were your own business?

6. Which example from the airline demonstrates an intrapreneurial mindset most clearly?

7. What attitudes prevent employees from behaving like intrapreneurs?

8. In what ways could an intrapreneurial mindset improve your current work performance?

Part C: Adaptability and Responsiveness

9. What lessons did you learn from the airline's response to the low-cost competitor?

10. Why is adaptability becoming increasingly important in today's workplace?

11. What changes in your industry or workplace require employees to adapt?

12. Which aspect of adaptability challenged your thinking most strongly?

Part D: Time Management and the Big Picture

13. What did you learn about the relationship between time management and value addition?

14. Why did the airline withdraw from courier services despite the apparent opportunity?

15. What lessons did you learn about keeping your eyes on the organisational "big picture"?

16. How can distractions prevent employees from adding value?

Part E: Building Capability

17. What did you learn from the author's decision to study aviation despite already holding a leadership position?

18. What lessons did you learn from Naaman's servant girl's credibility with her employers?

19. Which capability-building recommendation in this chapter stood out most strongly to you?

20. Why is continuous learning essential for value addition?

Part F: Knowing the Organisation

21. What did you learn from the Perception Audit conducted at the airline?

22. Why is it difficult to add value to an organisation that you do not understand?

23. Which organisational information do you believe every employee should know?

24. What lesson from this section is most relevant to your current workplace?

Part G: Star Performance and Personal Initiative

25. What did you learn from the author's efforts to become a star performer?

26. What lessons did you learn from the model aircraft presented to the President of Tanzania?

27. Why is personal initiative important for value addition?

28. What prevents many employees from taking initiative?

Part H: Teamwork and Problem Solving

29. What did you learn about teamwork from the commercial department's three-person team?

30. What lessons did you learn from Naaman's servants who encouraged him to wash in the Jordan?

31. Why is solving root causes often more effective than solving symptoms?

32. Which teamwork principle from this chapter would most improve workplace relationships?

Part I: Personal Brand and Communication

33. What did you learn about the importance of building a professional personal brand?

34. Why was Daniel's "excellent spirit" used as an example of value addition?

35. What lessons did you learn from the airline's internal seminars on on-time performance?

36. How can poor communication reduce the value of otherwise good ideas?

Part J: Positivity, Visibility and Innovation

37. What did you learn from the story of the delayed Zanzibar flight?

38. Why is positivity a value-adding attribute rather than merely a personality trait?

39. What did you learn from the airline's visibility strategy at the World Travel Market in London?

40. Which innovation example in this chapter impressed you most? Why?

Part K: Wellness and Sustainable Performance

41. What did you learn about the relationship between wellness and value addition?

42. Why does the chapter place spiritual wellness at the centre of the other dimensions of wellness?

43. Which aspect of wellness do you think employees neglect most often?

44. What lesson from this section would most improve long-term performance?

Looking at Myself

45. Which value-adding attribute described in this chapter is your greatest strength?

46. Which value-adding attribute requires the greatest improvement?

47. Which lesson from Naaman's servant girl challenged you most strongly?

48. Which lesson from the airline stories challenged you most strongly?

My Key Discoveries

49. The most important lesson I learned about value addition is:

50. The value-adding practice I most need to develop is:

51. The example from this chapter that I will remember most is:

52. The biggest insight I gained about my role as an employee is:

Before I Move On

53. If your supervisor were to describe the value you currently add to your organisation, what would he or she say?

54. Which value-adding practice from this chapter are you most committed to applying?

55. How would your organisation be different if every employee consistently applied the principles discussed in this chapter?