Be a Successful Team Player at Work

Part of being successful at work is having the skills to work together with your coworkers and being a valuable part of the team. Being a team player will help you develop worthwhile relationships with coworkers and make you stand out as an exceptional employee to your bosses. Working with your team will help you become more productive at work and better at your job.

Steps

Communicating with Coworkers

1. Communicate clearly with your coworkers and bosses. The most important part of being a team player at work is communication. Clear communication will help avoid misunderstandings, promotes workplace morale and helps projects get done more quickly.
   • Express yourself using “I” statements so that you are easily understood. Use phrases like:
     • "I feel like my suggestions aren't being taken seriously."
     • "I think we should should consider another method."
   • Make sure that your words match your body language. Saying something positive with negative body language (like slumped shoulders or while rolling your eyes) can confuse people or make you appear dishonest.
2. Listen to your coworkers. In order to be a team player, you have to know what your coworkers and bosses want and need. Actively listen to what they are saying before deciding on a course of action.
   • Make eye contact while listening. This shows the person your attention is on them.
   • Repeat important points back to the person to show them you understand. This also gives them a chance to clarify in case you haven’t understood.
     • Use phrases like "So, you mean we need to find some new clients?"
3. Seek feedback. Do not wait for your coworkers or bosses to give you feedback on your work. Instead, actively seek it out. Your coworkers are valuable resources that can help you improve as a worker and team player.
   • Ask your coworkers and bosses what you could be doing better to help the team or how you can work more efficiently. Ask them: "How could my work on this have helped your do your job better?"
   • Seeking feedback shows your coworkers that you care about their opinion.
   • Accept and act on the feedback. Sometimes feedback can hurt, but in the long run it will help you develop as a worker and team player.
4. Speak your mind. Your bosses and coworkers rely on you not just to narrowly do your job, but to contribute to the overall success of the project. Do not be afraid to speak your mind and give your opinion on the project. Be forthcoming and honest.
   • Employers prefer workers who are willing to be assertive and who actively participate above those who are silent, regardless of who hard they work.
5. Get clarification. If you do not understand something, do not be afraid to ask for clarification. Seek out the person who can help you clarify the information and ask them directly.
   • Many workers fail to get their work done not out of laziness or malice, but because they did not fully understand the work they were supposed to be doing. Make sure that you understand what the team expects of you by getting clarification on your responsibilities when you are not completely certain.

Being a Good Team Member

1. Participate in group meetings and planning sessions. Offering your thoughts will keep you an active helper in the decision-making process and show you have an interest in the team.
   • When discussing a topic at a meeting, do not assume everyone has thought of the same problems, issues, or ideas as you. Instead, actively engage with your coworkers by sharing your ideas.
   • Your participation matters to the team. Just as you rely on your coworkers to participate, they rely on you. By participating you are helping everyone, including yourself.
2. Respect your coworkers. Treat them with respect by being polite, not interrupting them, and avoiding office gossip.
   • Be considerate of your coworkers' backgrounds.
   • Try to see things from your coworkers' or boss’s perspectives.
   • Appreciate that someone with a different background than you can bring an idea to a problem that might never have occurred to you.
3. Take action to solve problems. Part of being a team player is helping deal with problems and difficult situations. Instead of passing a problematic issue off on someone else, do what you can to support coworkers and find a solution to the problem.
   • Do not wait until someone asks you before you do something that you know needs to be done.
   • Take the initiative and solve the problem while it is still small and before it grows into a bigger problem that affects your team.
4. Compromise. As a team player, you will not always get to do things your way all the time. Be willing to compromise on issues and take into consideration the needs of the team.
   • Consider why things might need to be done differently than you originally thought, and be willing to change your mind.
   • Ask questions if you do not understand why someone needs you to do something differently.
     • "How is my current workflow hurting the team's efficiency?"
   • When you are willing to compromise with your coworkers, they will be more willing to compromise with you. When you compromise, you are helping to establish that the team works with one another rather than against one another.
5. Set goals and evaluate progress. Setting goals will help you and your work much more effectively. Evaluate those goals regularly to ensure you and your team are making the progress you expect to be making.
   • Discuss goals with the whole team to ensure that everyone understands what needs to be done and knows their specific piece of the puzzle.
   • Review your progress toward your goal frequently. Often times, the goals or conditions of the project will change. Consistent review will help you to avoid wasting time on things that are not helping you achieve your goals.

Working Hard for Your Team

1. Be reliable. Part of being a helpful member of a team is being reliable. Show up to work on time and meet deadlines consistently. Reliable and consistent performance will earn favor with your boss and camaraderie from teammates.
   • Do not over promise. Be forthright about what you can and cannot actually deliver. Your bosses and coworkers will be much happier knowing up front that they need to find another solution than if they find out only when you have been unable to deliver on your promise.
   • Be honest. While it may feel right in the moment not to disappoint someone, you will be hurting yourself and your team more in the long run if you make a promise you cannot keep.
2. Do more than you have to. If you consistently go out of your way to do more than the bare minimum, then your coworkers will come to trust and rely on you as a coworker and teammate.
   • Be creative and come up with ideas that can help the team solve problems.
   • Consider taking on more responsibilities if you can realistically complete them, rather than waiting for someone to ask you to do more work. Not only will you be taking the initiative and helping the team, it will give you more influence over the type of work you are doing.
3. Take responsibility. Sometimes, you will fail or make a mistake. A good team player will own up to their mistake and take action to fix it rather than blaming it on someone or something else. Sometimes things really were out of your control, but coworkers and bosses will respect you for taking responsibility and the initiative to fix the problem.
   • Be willing to admit you could have done something differently.
   • Admitting your mistakes will also help build your relationship with your teammates and make them more willing to work with you.
4. Be flexible. Come in a little early or stay late to help meet a group goal. Being flexible with your schedule shows willingness to do what's best for the team.
   • Be willing to adapt to the situation. Sometimes you will need to revise your plan when conditions change.
   • When you realize something needs to change, move quickly to make the change.
   • Being flexible shows that you are able to work in varied conditions, a valuable skill in a fast-paced workplace.
5. Offer constructive feedback. Give a coworker constructive feedback for problems with clients or projects. Sharing your knowledge will make you a valuable, trusted workplace team player. Approach your coworker and ask them if they would like your help or advice with the problem they are having, in order to be sensitive to them if they have recently failed or made a mistake.
   • Constructive criticism has to come from a place of trust and personal humility. Coworkers will sense if you are being condescending. This will hurt both you and the team.
   • Make sure your feedback is specific and not judgmental. Your constructive criticism should be aimed at helping the person and not at calling someone out on his or her failure.
   • Timing matters. You may want to wait before engaging with someone who has just failed at a task, particularly in public. Wait until they have had time to become less emotional and offer them help based on your own experience.
6. Pitch in on the small stuff. You are working hard anyway, so take a moment to do the small things that improve everyone’s quality of life on your team. You are more likely to be viewed as a workplace team player if you treat coworkers with courtesy and help out around the office.
   • Put more paper in the copy machine if it runs out while you are making copies.
   • Make a new pot of coffee if you finish off a pot.
   • Help clean up a mess in the break room.

Tips

• Don't be afraid to speak up if you have an issue.
• Always be honest. Being a team player is all about trust. It is very difficult to regain trust once it has been lost, so you are always better off being honest even when you think it might hurt you in the short term.

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Build Bridges With a Co Worker You Don't Like
• Survive Sharing an Office Space
• Deal With Difficult People in the Workplace
• Deal with Mean Female Coworkers
• Be Friends with Your Coworkers
• Talk with Coworkers About Your Salaries
• Suspend an Employee
• Tell Coworkers You're Pregnant
• Deal With a Rude, Arrogant and Mean Subordinate
• Develop Positive Work Relationships

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