The success of every business is driven by teams of people. It makes perfect sense that we achieve more by working together than we do from going it alone. If every player in the team is committed and working hard, success will follow.
Naturally, great teamwork skills are highly valued by employers who look for people that can fit in well and boost the performance of their teams.
Have a look at these qualities listed in more detail below and see how many of them you possess.
People don’t like being around or working with negative people. Negativity drains team morale so it’s important to remember that even when times get tough, you need to work with your team to solve problems that are difficult.
Maintaining a positive attitude will make you a more popular team member and a more effective one. This is especially true when difficulties occur and challenges arise.
To be a great team player you need to be able to put the team first by communicating openly and honestly with your team rather than maintaining a quiet politeness. By offering constructive criticism and honest feedback you can help your team to reach peak performance.
Tactfully delivering criticism can be a whole new skill in itself. Try to do it in a way that doesn’t place blame and doesn’t disrespect your team members.
Great team players show initiative and take steps to help lead their team to the next level. A team of robots that simply do what is asked of them is not going to grow and develop. You should use team meetings and engagement to help generate new ideas, stimulate outside thinking and take action. Taking a proactive approach to improving your team and driving success will make you a valuable team member.
Sharing is a principle that is so basic you probably learned it in nursery. You should share your time and resources with your team members and perhaps most importantly, your knowledge and point of view. Great team players think about ways that they can benefit their whole team as opposed to selfishly hold back knowledge and resources to solely benefit themselves.
When you work in a team, you have to be ready to face change. Roles may change, goals may shift and great team players are ready for it. Being flexible and adapting where necessary is crucial when both working on your own or as part of a team. The fact of the matter is that you can never control everything, but you can be ready to tackle anything.
You need to let your team members know that you are dependable. Arriving at work and to meetings on time and fully prepared is the best way to show this. It also proves that you are committed to the team.
If you waltz into a meeting 10 minutes late then the message you’re giving out is that your time is more important and valuable than the rest of your team’s. Be considerate by sticking to schedules and always being ready and prepared.
Most career driven professionals want to perform well and be recognised for their successes. And many of us want to be the best. However, when working in a team it’s important to work together towards common goals. Going off on your own is most likely to have a negative impact on productivity. Great team players are interested in not just their own success, but the success of the whole team.
Great team players don’t let their ego get in the way as this will lose them respect from their team members and will have a negative effect on team performance. You should approach every contribution you make to your team with a positive attitude. Every little helps and even the smallest tasks can make a big impact.
To bring your team closer together, take a look at these great team building actions.
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