Man John not sure where to even begin. I've worked with some awesome skilled individuals over my time but there are a few important things that I think stand out to me in terms of being a strong DBA. I'm not sure I can do all the traits justice but a few that stick out to me are in no order:

• Communication - I've seen individuals who can run circles around anyone when it comes to SQL and being a DBA but the pure lack of communication skills leaves some serious gaps between DBA's and other departments
• The Energizer Factor - I am all for being efficient, and if you don't mind me taking a note from you "automating" everything but at the end of the day you have to want it; you have to be ready to put forth extra effort on any given day.
• Ability to Discern - you got 20 people breathing down your neck and no one can access the database - what do you do? Do you buckle under pressure or do you have ice water in your veins. Do you have the ability to "discern" what the issues are?
• Is Can't A Word - you say you can't; but I say I can. I love a challenge; when someone tells me something can't get done you better believe I will do my best to prove you wrong
• Willingness To Learn - Do you have the desire and drive to go above and beyond to learn and hone your skill set. Or are  you happy with being complacent.

I believe that I can take anyone and bring them along in learning a skill set and teach the the DBA ways; but having the ability, drive, and desire to continously better oneself I've found to be a stumbling block for most, and when that attribute is present that other traits are missing such as the lack of ability to communicate etc. When you find those people who are one in a few thousand or a diamond in the rough take advantage of that - they are few and far between.......

I've talked long enough I reckon.......love this topic - cheers

Chris, there's some golden advice in that post chap. If you're going to flaunt quality written content about the place like that then you at least need to put your blog URL in your signature so folks know where they can seek out more quality stuff. I'm almost tempted to enable the recognition system on these forums so you can get some well deserved respect-tah. Almost.

[Digression: This forum has some sort of recognition system capability which we could look at making use of in the future. I've no idea how it works mind, I'm just another DBA and new to this forum admin stuff. A discussion for another time perhaps....]

You're spot on about seeking out raw talent that you can mould. I would even go so far as to suggest that soft skills are that much harder to teach and develop than technical skills. Some you just cannot teach IMHO.

What I find fascinating about the outstanding data professionals that I have encountered is that there's no winning formula to them. No exact winning combination of qualities that will guarantee results. Sure there are identifiable ingredients but the blend and strength are always unique from person to person. Which I guess means there's still hope for the rest of us yet :-)

The first characteristic i think of is "proactive". Nothing irks me more than to have a problem bubble up to the surface that could have been prevented, because nobody was looking for potential problems when there were signs. Being proactive can save the company a lot of money, time, and clients.

Nice....a SQLMickey sighting!!!!!

I like being pro-active and part of being pro-active for me with the numerous servers and instances to maintain is alot of automation that notifies me when something goes awry.

One of the most recent initiatives that has helped out alot is PBM (Policy Based Management) that checks a set of policies against all my servers, but more than that if all the systems are being monitored taking on initiative and getting other tasks done making myself proactive is a top priority and a must.

I liked that topic!!! and John made me think to much about being pro-active over here late on the East Coast. Cheers my friends and keep the good topics coming

Wow John,

First, to get the ass kissing out the way- Great Question!

I could take the approach of trustworthy, ethical, brilliant, and well rounded, but I honestly think those should be a basis to start from.  All DBAs should adhere to an unspoken ethics code that makes us trustworthy, well rounded people (most of the time) - and again, this is strictly my OPINION.  I have spent the last 3 years of my life learning what a DBA does and how to do it - self taught, in a 100sqft office.  Every day I try to read one more chapter, watch one more webinar, see one more headline and read one more article.  I have pushed myself every day to learn everything that I can to become a well rounded Accicental_DBA_.

It pains me to see people that blow through our job positions that have no concept of what we actually do or how to do it correctly and accurately - more than that, I loathe the person that comes in and outsources the work leaving nothing but a ghost trail of what has been done for others to pick up the pieces later.

Trait 1:  Documentation, Documentation, Documentation....  and I want proof in the form of samples from previous jobs.
Trait 2:  Honesty - If it is good or bad, I want to hear it - don't beat around the bush and make excuses.  BRING ME SOLUTIONS not problems!  That kinda guy...
Trait 3:  Dedicated - you don't have to work 16 hours a day every day, but if IT hits the fan - you are the DB Ninja- own it - stay til it's done or it's dead.
Trait 4:  Social - Yea, I want someone that follows twitter and facebook and have professional pages posted for information.  How better to network with professionals in your industry and find out the latest tech news specific to SQL. This is the kind of person that can work well on their own, but can go out and have a beer at HH once in a while.

Find me this person, and I will give you one hell of a DBA - one the could easily replace me at the company I am currently in the process of leaving.

Keep the great questions coming!
Ryan

Chris, a big thumbs up from me for PBM too. Did you roll your own policies or download an existing framework?

Have our own home grown ones but are pretty standard; we are evolving it and I agree with the CMS, it makes handling a plethora of servers quite nice.

One that I might have missed when reading over is I believe a DBA needs to take ownership; I mean look at what we do. We are responsible for all aspects of the DB; have you ever been in a situation where you or someone you know just made a complete muck of something. End of the day we all make mistakes but I've found in my own career ones that own up to those and take responsibility to fix and ones that push it under the rug and wait until it is brought up and plead the fifth. This might be categorized under the trust factor but nonetheless it is a sticking point with me. I want to go into the data battle knowing the guy on my right and left (fellow DBA's) have my back and I have there's (there is that trust thing again huh?!?!)

I liked the theme of ownership so much, that I decided to blog about it for this months T-SQL Tuesday: Step Up and Take More Ownership