HowtobeaTeamPlayer

1、1How to be a Team PlayerBeing successful at work is about more than just your own personal achievements at a companyitsabout working well together with others. Afterall, this is how you con tribute to the success of a compa ny, which is the whole reason you are there. Andbeing a team player at work

2、is about more than just collaborating on projects (this is, after all, your job), its also about your attituand the gestures you make to convey that youre a part of the team .In tegrate afew of the following pointers into your routine in order to collaborate more with your fellow workers.Volunteer f

3、or ProjectsThere are always those projects that will come up at work that require a few more help ing han ds. So eve nif said project does nt exacdyfyiour jobdescripti on, offer to help out if the team n eeds some extra man power. Youllreally help out your coworkers, people will appreciate your effo

4、rts, and you might learn something new thatcan help you out in your own work.Offer to Help a CoworkerIf you sense that a coworker is falling behind on their work or that theyre goirto be staying late that evening working on a big project, ask them if theres anything you can do tolighten the load. It

5、s often better for the company if theproject is finished more quickly, and you may help that coworker catch someth ing that they might havemissed in the an xiety of tackli ng such a large task in the first place.Go to LunchSome people like to use their lunch breaks as a cha nee to run erran ds, catc

6、h up on emails or phone calls, orget away from the office for an hour; but make it a point at least once a week or a few times a month to sitdown and talk with your coworkers over a meal. You may find that the peers who are high-str ungthroughout the rest of the day are really neat people during the

7、ir down time when they arent thinking ofthe work at hand.Take Part in Company.ActivitiesWhether it aspotluck, a birthday celebrati on, or an office con test, try to get invo Ived in compa ny activitieswhe n these come up. If your office is part of a recreational softball league but you just arent at

8、hletic,show your support bycheeri ng on your coworkers from the sta nds. Taking part in the extracurricular2activities 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 sociali

9、te, but even if you are shy or new to the company, there are still ways to bea team player. Ultimately, your coworkers will appreciate your efforts, and will reach out to you more as aresult.3Being a Team PlayerBehave like a team playerAs a manager, you may frequently lead teams as well as participa

10、te in teams led by someone else. In eithersituation, 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 teams collective output becomesmore than just the sum of each persons contribution. Ex

11、perts call this synergy .By behaving like a team player rather than an individual performer, you help your team produce outcomesthat are greater than the sum of the individual members contributionswhether youre leading the teamor participating as a member.Pace, dont leadLeadership should mean managi

12、ng communal activity, not being a dominant megalomaniac. Allowingpeople to arrive at their own conclusion is important to their self-empowerment.Personal InsightLeadership, I think, too often is seen as being an exercise in domination. And thats seen as a virtue in itsown rights. The great leaders h

13、ave an absolute idea of where theyre going, and they lead by example. Leadby example, you hear that all the time as a virtue. And I question it. I think there are times when it has to bedone, but the consummate manager is much more circumspect and only uses that as a last resort.My first exposure to

14、 the importance of this was quite early in my management career, when I was on one ofthese 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 Id actually been videoed. The exercise that we had to dowas, ba

15、sically, get a load of bits of wood over a high wire or something, without touching it. And there wasa load of people there. Id been elected, quite just by chance, as the team leader. What I proceeded to dowas to get this rabble of people around me, who were all shouting ideas, and just say: Right,

16、I know whatwere 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 Ive ever experienced.This enormous, huge cauldron of energy just imploded. And they just said: Oh, all right then. I cou

17、ldntunderstand it at the time. I could sense it, but I was saying: Right, okay. Joe you go up and get over wire orwhatever. People just were meekly doing it, but they didnt actually care anymore. Thats because I just toldthem what to do. I wasnt pacing; I wasnt involving them in the decision. I was

18、telling them what to do. Andthats a fundamental business lesson. So many people, particularly in small businessesand therefore alot of egos involvedjust take this approach.4So what is pacing all about? The metaphor is actually a very simple one. Its the trainer, running alongsidethe athlete. Hes not

19、 running ahead of him, telling him where to go. What hes doing is running alongside ofhim. And why is he doing this? Because he wants to encourage him, he wants him to know that hes notalone, and he wants him to know that his needs are being fulfilled. Hes not telling him how fast to run,though. Tha

20、ts his decision, because hes the expert.Generate creative ideasWork to understand more about your teammates expertise and knowledge.The broader your understanding, the more easily you and other team members can combine yourperspectives and generate creative ideas.Heres an example: Sonya, the operati

21、ons manager on a cross-functional team charged with developing anew banking product, asked the marketing manager to talk about customer preferences. She also discussedproduct costs with the financial specialist. Her broader understanding sparked an important insight for theteamSince our customers wi

22、ll likely use this product outside normal business hours, we could provideit through self-service on our home-banking Web site. That would lower costs, bringing revenues straightto our bottom line.Also seek ways to expand your teams set of feasible alternatives from which to make decisions. The payo

23、ff?More creativeand better informedchoices.Consider this example: Andrew was on a team charged with determining how to use a piece of vacant landowned by his company that abutted the headquarters building. The team weighed two possibilities: sellingthe land or expanding the current building onto it.

24、 Andrew raised additional alternatives, including leasingthe space and constructing another type of building on it. By evaluati ng the pote ntial pros and cons of awider set of alter natives, his team improved its cha nces of mak ing a more in formed choice.Share what you knowAs a team player, you h

25、ave a lot to offer in clud ing in formati on, experie nee, and specialized know-how. The more you share these offeri ngs, the more syn ergy you help gen erate in your team. Here aretwo ideas to get you started:? Teach: For example, if youre familiar with the groupware your team plans to use, provide

26、 a tutorial for teammates who have never used it.? Provide releva nt in formati on:If youre the marketi ng pers on on the team, disclose whatyour departme nt has lear ned about customers and suppliers.5Commit to the groupIn dividual commitme nt to a group effortthat is what makes a team work, a comp

27、a ny work, a society work, a civilizati onwork.-/ince LombardiIt takes time for people from differe nt specialized fun cti ons 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 professi onal and pers onal

28、 level. You dontn ecessarily n eed to become their best friend, but find out how they think and what most motivates and engages their bestwork. Youll soon find it easier to com muni cate with them.? Complete easy tasks first: By successfully work ing on man ageable tasks first, you build up positive

29、 chemistry with teammatesfrom other functions. You can the n move on to more challe nging tasks, buildi ng on the foun dati on youve established.? Bring in a facilitator: A con sulta nt who specializes in develop ing collaborative behavior in groups can be a valuable resource.Seek win-win soluti ons

30、 with teammatesIf you have a con flict with a fellow team member, dont assume you n eed to compromise on issues important to you. I nstead, seek trade-offs that will satisfy your and the other persons interestsand not forceeither party to concede important issues.Suppose you and another team member

31、want to take responsibility for the same task. In this case, youmight 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 expertis

32、e to this task that would let me complete itquickly, which is crucial to our team.? Communicate your preferences among options, and invite the other persons perspective: Id feel best about this if we atleast shared some parts of this task. What do you think?Support team goalsBefore accepting an invi

33、tation to join or lead a team, carefully consider:? Your level of commitment: Youll be an ineffective team player if youre not fully committed to the teams goals.? Your level of enthusiasm: Unless youre enthusiastic about the effort, you wont 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 opportunityto join or lead the team.6Be reliableGood team players are reliable. They can be trusted to do their share of the work, do it well, and get it doneon time. They do what they say theyll do,