A banking CEO reveals 3 crucial skills employees need

Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/Flickr

LinkedIn Influencer Ryan Holmes published this post originally on LinkedIn.

In my line of work, I often cross paths with innovative and inspiring leaders across all types of industries. At a conference early this year, I met Dave McKay, president and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of the biggest banks in the world, with 16 million customers.

With 80,000 employees working across 40 countries, Dave has a lot of experience managing teams and people. Recently, I had a chance to sit down with him for a conversation around leadership in the digital era. One of topics we discussed is the skills most important for employees to bring to the workforce today. It turns out, for the most part, they're surprisingly traditional.

Here are three key attributes Dave looks for in his top employees:

1. Curiosity

In a recent PwC survey of more than a thousand CEOs, a number of respondents cited "curiosity" as a leadership trait that is becoming increasingly critical in today's workforce.

Dave looks for this trait in not only his leaders, but in all of his employees. And like any good boss, Dave encourages his employees and leaders to leverage their curiosity to examine unsuccessful outcomes and determine how they can do things better the next time around. Dave also wants his employees to dig into winning endeavors. By uncovering factors that led to successful outcomes, he told me, he believes his teams can drill down on repeatable and sustainable tactics.

I couldn't agree more. I've always been a big proponent of intellectual curiosity in the workplace. In fact, it's been a deciding factor in several executives hires I've personally made.

2. Collaboration

In today's evolving business landscape, people need to solve problems as teams. Consider, for example, the many emerging technologies being implemented by companies. Being able to tap into a colleague's specialized knowledge of these new tools will help you do your job more quickly and smoothly, as opposed to trying to figure it out on your own.

Dave points out that creating these smoother processes across his organization requires employees who have exceptional teamwork and communication skills. "Good partnering skills, an ability to not negotiate as much, but find common ground on issues," are key here, he says.

Certainly, the ability to work well with others — not just your boss — is a skill that's critical in any role. At my company, I'm constantly assessing how my employees treat co-workers, clients, even strangers. Civility, courtesy and genuine caring are traits bosses often value highly because they lead to a more harmonious, productive team.

Our policy: leave the ego at the door.

3. Commitment

A few years back, Netflix released a unique document called the Netflix Manifesto, which reveals how the entertainment company shaped its corporate culture and how it motivates performance for employees. Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg called it "the most important document ever to come out of the Valley."

I've read the Netflix Manifesto many times, and, it turns out, so has Dave. One of the important themes to emerge from the 124-page deck is commitment. Why is commitment so important? For Dave, a committed employee has accountability and is continually raising the bar.

I've found that this type of committed employee is an enormous asset to any company because their attitude rubs off on others. It motivates the larger team to strive for greater heights.