Not a huge sample size, but this article has studied what makes ‘super-productive’ people tick:

We collected data on over 7,000 people who were rated by their manager on their level of their productivity and 48 specific behaviors. Each person was also rated by an average of 11 other people, including peers, subordinates, and others. We identified the specific behaviors that were correlated with high levels of productivity — the top 10% in our sample — and then performed a factor analysis.
Here's the list of seven things that came out of the study:
  1. Set stretch goals
  2. Show consistency
  3. Have knowledge and technical expertise
  4. Drive for results
  5. Anticipate and solve problems
  6. Take initiative
  7. Be collaborative
In my experience, you could actually just focus on helping people with three things:
  • Show up
  • Be proactive
  • Collaborate
That's certainly been my experience of high-performers over my career so far!

Source: Harvard Business Review (via Ian O’Byrne)