We’ve been exploring teamwork for a little while now, we have covered the roles people play in teams, how to lead, how to manage conflict and what to do when team members aren’t pulling their weight. (You can find all of the previous challenges in your dashboard)
This time we are going to look at the skills you need to be a good team player *spoiler alert* some of your other Young Professional Skills are going to be important here.
Communication
You can’t read any article/blog or help page on teamwork without communication coming out as the top skill you need. Good communicators do not speak for the sake of it, they speak up when they need too, the actively listen to the rest of the team and clearly communicate what they are doing and their plans.
One of people’s biggest bug bears with team work can be that there are lots of team meetings but nothing gets done or that people fill the group messages with lots of stuff not related to the topic. Building team spirit is important but remember that it is important what you say not how often people hear your voice.
Top tip: Before team meetings make a note of the key questions you have and the 3 things you need to get across in that meeting. Planning what you are going to say will help you keep on topic and the more practise the more likely you are to communicate better.
Sharing ideas and resources
Building on these communication skills, good team players make sure they share ideas, resources and tips they find along the way. When you are working in a group you are likely come across the same tools that will help, if you find something that will help with another part of the project further down the line or be useful t another group, do not assume they will find it – make sure you share it. We all have different strengths and weaknesses and a good team member will make sure they are sharing their strengths with others.
Top tip: Make sure you have a dedicated place in a shared drive for tools and resources, no one wants to have to search through 300 email reply-alls or months of what’s app messages to find it.
Problem solving super star
Good team players make sure there problems are discussed and shared with the team with a shared course of action to follow. When a problem comes up a good team player doesn’t blame others or get caught up in dwelling on or avoiding it.
Accountable and organised
A good team player does the work they say they will by the time they said they were going to do it and they do it to a good standard. This team work situation you are in is unlikely to be the only thing you have to do, you will have other commitments at work, in education or socially as well the rest of your team. One team member not doing what they say they will or not turning up on time will impact other people’s plans and your own too. being accountable also includes speaking up if your part of the project is falling behind or if you are struggling, the team can help and will need to know as soon as possible so they can support you. Asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness.
Top tip: Make sure you write everything down, keep on top of your to do lists and make sure you are looking forward at all of the deadlines.
Adapts quickly
Things change quickly in team situations, you can lose team members or have to change the whole project at the last minute. Being flexible and adapting quickly means that these things don’t phase you, you can keep the end game in your mind and work forward to do what needs to done. Being someone that adapts quickly also means that you are happy to pick up any jobs from making the tea to taking a leadership role if required.
Be all about the team
Focusing on the goals of the team and showing commitment to the project is a good sign of a team player. By doing all of the things we talk about here you will already be starting to show this.
Top tip: A good team player isnt bigger thatn the team itself.
Positive attitude
It can be hard when things get tough and especially so when you are part of lots of team but it is important that you try to keep positive. If you complain, delay or are generally uninterested in how the project is progressing you slow the whole team down and show that you aren’t a good team player.
Your Challenge:
Your skills audit: we want you to think about the skills above and measure yourself against them, a simple rating from 1 – 5.
1 : being that you do not use this skill currently
5 : being that you use this effectively all of the time
For any that you score 3 or less on we want you to come up with one thing you can do next time you are in a team environment to improve that skill.
