From "You Can't Manage Time"

When we’re impressed with people on the job – colleagues, management, anyone – it’s sometimes hard to put a finger on just why that is. It’s their demeanor. It’s a combination of their dependability and expertise. It’s their character and it shows up, sometimes, in their status, or at least in how they’re regarded by others.

See? It’s hard to pin down exactly, but really what it amounts to is professionalism. more>

Emotional Intelligence and Professionalism
In Emotional Intelligence terms, this shows up as a personal competence: Conscientiousness, which Daniel Goleman defines as "Dependability, responsibility in fulfilling obligations." more>

Neatness Counts?
I once worked for a man who was meticulous. He always placed chairs under his conference table equidistant apart, pushed in just so far.

He insisted on erasing every mark from the white board in his office after every meeting. On Fridays, he wiped down the same board with cleaning solution 'til it shone, removed any dubious-looking leaves from his office plants, and stacked the papers in his inbox so that every corner was aligned with precision. more>