HowtobeaTeamPlayer.doc

How to be a Team Player

Being successful at work is about more than just your own personal achievements at a company – it’s about working well together with others. After all, this is how you contribute to the success of a company, which is the whole reason you are there. And being a team player at work is about more than just collaborating on projects (this is, after all, your job), it’s also about your attitude and the gestures you make to convey that you’re a part of the team. Integrate a few of the following pointers into your routine in order to collaborate more with your fellow workers.

Volunteer for Projects

There are always those projects that will come up at work that require a few more helping hands. So even if said project doesn’t exactly fall under your job description, offer to help out if the team needs some extra manpower. You’ll really help out your coworkers, people will appreciate your efforts, and you might learn something new that can help you out in your own work.

Offer to Help a Coworker

If you sense that a coworker is falling behind on their work or that they’re going to be staying late that evening working on a big project, ask them if there’s anything you can do to lighten the load. It’s often better for the company if the project is finished more quickly, and you may help that coworker catch something that they might have missed in the anxiety of tackling such a large task in the first place.

Go to Lunch

Some people like to use their lunch breaks as a chance to run errands, catch up on emails or phone calls, or get away from the office for an hour; but make it a point at least once a week or a few times a month to sit down and talk with your coworkers over a meal. You may find that the peers who are high-strung throughout the rest of the day are really neat people during their down time when they aren’t thinking of the work at hand.

Take Part in Company Activities

Whether it’s a potluck, a birthday celebration, or an office contest, try to get involved in company activities when these come up. If your office is part of a recreational softball league but you just aren’t athletic, show your support by cheering on your coworkers from the stands. Taking part in the extracurricular activities of your office makes work more enjoyable for you, as well as endears you more to your coworkers, who may work more productively with you as a result.

Not everyone is a natural socialite, but even if you are shy or new to the company, there are still ways to be a team player. Ultimately, your coworkers will appreciate your efforts, and will reach out to you more as a result.
Being a Team Player
Behave like a team player
As a manager, you may frequently lead teams as well as participate in teams led by someone else. In either situation, you need to demonstrate the qualities of a good team player rather than an individual performer. When both team leaders and members behave like team players, the team's collective output becomes more than just the sum of each person's contribution. Experts call this synergy.
By behaving like a team player rather than an individual performer, you help your team produce outcomes that are greater than the sum of the individual members' contributions—whether you're leading the team or participating as a member.

Pace, don't lead
Leadership should mean managing communal activity, not being a dominant megalomaniac. Allowing people to arrive at their own conclusion is important to their self-empowerment.
Personal Insight
Leadership, I think, too often is seen as being an exercise in domination. And that's seen as a virtue in its own rights. The great leaders have an absolute idea of where they're going, and they lead by example. Lead by example, you hear that all the time as a virtue. And I question it. I think there are times when it has to be done, but the consummate manager is much more circumspect and only uses that as a last resort.
My first exposure to the importance of this was quite early in my management career, when I was on one of these courses in Wales where you run up and down hills and build bridges over streams and everything, which was all great fun. And it was the first time I'd actually been videoed. The exercise that we had to do was, basically, get a load of bits of wood over a high wire or something, without touching it. And there was a load of people there. I'd been elected, quite just by chance, as the team leader. What I proceeded to do was to get this rabble of people around me, who were all shouting ideas, and just say: Right, I know what we're going to do. And I just told them, as a matter of fact, what we were going to do.
The video of the reaction of those people was just one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced. This enormous, huge cauldron of energy just imploded. And they just said: "Oh, all right then." I couldn't understand it at the time. I could sense it, but I was saying: "Right, okay. Joe you go up and get over wire or whatever." People just were meekly doing it, but they didn't actually care anymore. That's because I just told them what to do. I wasn't pacing; I wasn't involving them in the decision. I was telling them what to do. And that's a fundamental business lesson. So many people, particularly in small businesses—and therefore a lot of egos involved—just take this approach.
So what is pacing all about? The metaphor is actually a very simple one. It's the trainer, running alongside the athlete. He's not running ahead of him, telling him where to go. What he's doing is running alongside of him. And why is he doing this? Because he wants to encourage him, he wants him to know that he's not alone, and he wants him to know that his needs are being fulfilled. He's not telling him how fast to run, though. That's his decision, because he's the expert.

Generate creative ideas
Work to understand more about your teammates' expertise and knowledge. The broader your understanding, the more easily you and other team members can combine your perspectives and generate creative ideas.
Here's an example: Sonya, the operations manager on a cross-functional team charged with developing a new banking product, asked the marketing manager to talk about customer preferences. She also discussed product costs with the financial specialist. Her broader understanding sparked an important insight for the team—"Since our customers will likely use this product outside normal business hours, we could provide it through self-service on our home-banking Web site. That would lower costs, bringing revenues straight to our bottom line."
Also seek ways to expand your team's set of feasible alternatives from which to make decisions. The payoff? More creative—and better informed—choices.
Consider this example: Andrew was on a team charged with determining how to use a piece of vacant land owned by his company that abutted the headquarters building. The team weighed two possibilities: selling the land or expanding the current building onto it. Andrew raised additional alternatives, including leasing the space and constructing another type of building on it. By evaluating the potential pros and cons of a wider set of alternatives, his team improved its chances of making a more informed choice.

Share what you know
As a team player, you have a lot to offer—including information, experience, and specialized know-how. The more you share these offerings, the more synergy you help generate in your team. Here are two ideas to get you started:
· Teach: For example, if you're familiar with the groupware your team plans to use, provide a tutorial for teammates who have never used it.
· Provide relevant information: If you're the marketing person on the team, disclose what your department has learned about customers and suppliers.

Commit to the group
Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
–Vince Lombardi
It takes time for people from different specialized functions to work well together. To ease this process, apply these practices:
· Get to know your teammates: Take time to know other members of your team on a professional and personal level. You don't necessarily need to become their best friend, but find out how they think and what most motivates and engages their best work. You'll soon find it easier to communicate with them.
· Complete easy tasks first: By successfully working on manageable tasks first, you build up positive chemistry with teammates from other functions. You can then move on to more challenging tasks, building on the foundation you've established.
· Bring in a facilitator: A consultant who specializes in developing collaborative behavior in groups can be a valuable resource.

Seek win-win solutions with teammates
If you have a conflict with a fellow team member, don't assume you need to compromise on issues important to you. Instead, seek trade-offs that will satisfy your and the other person's interests—and not force either party to concede important issues.
Suppose you and another team member want to take responsibility for the same task. In this case, you might cultivate a win-win mentality through these practices:
· Explain your circumstances: "My understanding is that the tasks have not yet been assigned."
· Explain your interests in the issue at hand: "I think I can bring valuable expertise to this task that would let me complete it quickly, which is crucial to our team."
· Communicate your preferences among options, and invite the other person's perspective: "I'd feel best about this if we at least shared some parts of this task. What do you think?"

Support team goals
Before accepting an invitation to join or lead a team, carefully consider:
· Your level of commitment: You'll be an ineffective team player if you're not fully committed to the team's goals.
· Your level of enthusiasm: Unless you're enthusiastic about the effort, you won't give it your full focus and energy.
If you feel certain that you can go into a team effort fully committed and enthusiastic, seize the opportunity to join or lead the team.

Be reliable
Good team players are reliable. They can be trusted to do their share of the work, do it well, and get it done on time. They do what they say they'll do, and they can be counted on even when things get tough.
To be a reliable team player, follow these guidelines:
· Only make promises you intend to keep.
· Never commit to tasks you cannot complete.
· Be prepared and on time for meetings, and finish work on schedule.
· Deliver work that meets or exceeds the team's expectations.
· Be frank and objective when people ask for your opinion.
Team Player

　　 When you are working at a job, it is important to be a "team player." A team player works well with the other people on the job. Employers like when their employees get along and still get the job done.

　　There are many things you can do to be a good team player. When working with others, be willing to compromise. Think of ways to solve problems. Do not demand that your ideas are used.

　　Show loyalty to your team. Be committed to the team's growth and improvement. Think of ways to help your team meet its goals.

　　Find a way to work in different conditions. Adapt to change in your work setting. Be responsible and accept new ways of doing your job.

If you do these things, you will be a better team member. Your employer will appreciate your good work.

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