Top 5 Characteristics of an effective IT professional

Staying with my recent top 5 theme  here is my list of most desireable characteristics for an effective IT professional:

1. Patience, patience and more patience - IT can be stressful, fun, challenging and a whole lot of other things!  Having an overflowing supply of patience – with users, with other techs, with software, with hardware, with vendors, with bosses and with self is of major value!
2. Ability to adapt quickly to change is another ingredient that I believe is essential.  IT needs, tools and equipment is constantly changing – and keeping up with it can be a challenge.  Those that can adapt quickly shrug off the discarded work of the past in favor of attacking the new, without seeing the past work as being futile or a “waste” of time. 
3. A positive outlook is a must have for an effective IT professional.  Change and “issues” of all kinds crop up daily in the IT world – so having a positive attitude brings about stability in self and the environment – things are jsut better.
4. The effective IT professional is not a 9 to 5 person - IT functions often require that work be done “off” hours.  The most miserable IT person I ever worked with really just wanted a job to go to between 9 -5.  Needless to say, he didn’t work out!
5. A love for challenge rounds out my top 5 characteristics of an effective IT person.  IT is NOT easy street — it is NOT narrowly defined — it can be multi-disciplined, requiring knowledge way beyond the technical.  IT is NOT for everyone — good thing — if it was, everyone would be doing it whether they posses these characteristics or not!

Have you also read my Top 5 Reasons to Love IT and my Top 5 Reasons to Hate IT?