What do I look for in a prospective employee?

I was digging through some of my leadership books and came across some notes tucked into my copy of The Secret. I recall doing a lot of introspection and examination to see what things I would look for in a prospective new team member.

• Technical Prowess - In most of the work that I do, it's essential that the candidate already have strong technical capabilities.
  
  
• Humility - While knowing a lot is valuable, you're useless to the team if you think (or act like) you know everything. Balancing assertiveness with being humble is essential.
  
  
• Willingness to Collaborate - In the technology world, there are many people who would rather sit in front of their computer and program (or web surf). To be a team, we need to crawl out of our shells a bit and share with each other. As Blanchard says, "None of us are as smart as All of us!"
  
  
• Ability to See Big and Small Pictures Simultaneously - Steven Covey offers that fantastic advise of "Begin with the end in mind". For me, nothing in my career has benefited me more than investing in the ability to see things from multiple viewpoints. This is true of working with people (e.g., sensitivity to the needs of others). This is true working with technology (e.g., adapting tools and technologies to the needs at hand). This is true working with customers (e.g., what the customer needs is often different than was we think she needs).
  
  
• Sense of Humor - You're no good to your teammates if you can't be a jolly person. We're doing serious work, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves and kid each other. In my experience, those who don't have a sense of humor (or aren't willing to bring it into the office) are too rigid to be good team members.
  
  
• Willingness to Serve Others - Helping others grow is one of the most meritorious and rewarding parts of working on a team. If you're not willing to help others, you're not going to end up on my team. Period.

My intuition tells me that there are probably another half-dozen items I've omitted here, so I'll likely revisit this posting over time!