If you want to improve yourself and your career, one of the first areas to consider is the way in which you work with others. Being a team player is vital to your personal development and one of the things employers will look at when considering you for new roles. If you’re not good at working with others, it’s something you’ll definitely need to work on.
There are lots of ways of working on this and turning yourself into a more capable team player. And none of it has to be particularly complicated. Read on now to find out more about what you should do and how to get this side of your professional life right.
Keep Your Colleagues in the Loop
Simply keeping those around you informed when working from day to day can make a real difference for your business. When your colleagues know what you’re up to and how your work relates to theirs is important, and going the extra mile to keep them informed does make a real difference. Teams become disjointed and incoherent when people aren’t letting each other know what they’re doing and how their work overlaps and is interrelated.
Become an Active Listener
If you can become the kind of person that listens rather than talks, you’ll immediately become a better team player. There are so many people out there who think they’re great at working in a team when they’re actually just good at being loud and the center of attention. But that’s not what teamwork is about. If you want to be a functional and helpful member of a team, you have to actively listen to what those around you are actually saying. So that’s something you should work on.
Be the Person People Can Rely On
If you can be the person in the room that everyone else feels able to rely on, that’s a sign you’re a good team player. Being that person is something your boss and potential employers will notice in you as well. Try to be reliable and responsible. When you make a commitment, make sure that you follow through and never leave people feeling let down because that’s when it becomes a problem.
Show Commitment to the Cause
Having commitment to the overall and common goals that your team shares is vital. When you’re all working towards common goals together it can be very unifying and it brings the team together. That’s something you should try to embrace because it’ll bring you closer to the rest of the team and that’s the way it should be. And if people don’t see that commitment to the cause in you, they’ll wonder why and won’t regard you as a great team player.
Get to Know Everyone Around You and the Skills They Have to Offer
Getting to know your colleagues and understanding who you need to go to when you have a particular request is a sign of a positive team mentality. Knowing those around you and what they can offer proves that you’re taking an active interest in others. If you’re working in an office space for big teams that can be tough because there’s a lot of people to get to know, but it’s still worth making the effort if you can.
Don’t Hide When There’s a Challenge to Overcome
When there’s a problem and there’s something your team needs to overcome together, it’s up to you to grasp the nettle and rise to the challenge. If you’re someone who would rather hide in the shadows than get stuck into a task for the good of the team, you’re not going to be seen as a strong team player. The people who stand out are the ones who take on these challenges head-on.
Admit When You’re Wrong
It’s never a bad thing to admit when you’re wrong. We all get things wrong from time to time, and you should feel able to admit those mistakes when they happen. If you can’t show that kind of humility and let other people be right from time to time, you’re always going to struggle to function as a good team player.
These days, businesses want their employees to all be team players. If you’re going to get ahead and become the kind of professional that your employer needs you to be, it’s important that you can work as a team member alongside others. When you fail to do that, you let the side down and let yourself down too.
