If you are looking to get ahead in your career, you might want to consider the ways to be a team player at work. Team players are loved by everyone and therefore more likely to be noticed and thus promoted. Being a team player will pay dividends in almost 99% of industries. There are very few positions where being ruthless will get you ahead. So while attending work socials, or helping other colleagues with their work might seem a waste of time; consider that by helping others you will also be helping yourself. Follow my top ways to be a team player and it won’t be long before the karma comes back.
Get to know everybody you work with from the new intern to the CEO. We are all human after all, and who doesn’t want to see a friendly face and engage in some light chatter to fill the working day? Being friendly and approachable is the first of the ways to be a team player at work. Being a social butterfly will get you invited to lunches, after work drinks and many other work perks. Chatting at the water cooler is officially the way forward.
Being a good team mate means being reliable. If you agree to help with something, don’t be flaky and change your mind. Similarly always try to churn out consistently good work, thus setting a standard for your work. For example if you are given the task of running an internal conference, you want everyone to think it will be a fantastic day, simply because you are running it, and you always do a good job.
Is the person next to you stressed, unhappy and on the verge on having a total meltdown? Rather than watch the office turn into pandemonium, take small steps to help others out. There are many different ways to transform into an office angel from buying doughnuts for the whole team, giving up time to help a colleague meet a project deadline, proof-reading someone else's work or simply offering to make teas and coffees. And if you fancy yourself as somewhat of a comedian, laughter can go a long way to reducing office stress levels too.
This one is pretty straightforward. If someone asks you to do something, don’t be a Debbie downer - say YES. Want to go for drinks? – YES. Want to help out on a weekend event? – YES. Want to contribute an idea? – Yes. By being a Yes-Girl you will be seen as a positive member that contributes to the energy and synergy of the team.
Being able to sense the mood of others is a really great skill to harness. People at work often don’t share their feelings on other aspects of their lives, and so being able to pick-up on emotions can be really valuable. For example, if someone has just started going through a divorce they might not feel comfortable shouting it out from the rooftops, but being able to notice they going through a difficult time allows you to react and be more supportive.
If you are a manager of others, see your colleagues as a team to band together. A great motto used by my old boss was «the team that plays together, stays together,» and largely I have found this to be true. If a team enjoy spending time together they are more likely to pull together in work too, improving work output and decreasing the turnover of staff. So be a great a team manager. Shout a round of drinks after work, encourage team lunches and offer promotions for hard work. Most importantly ask workers how they feel their jobs are going and provide support and professional development opportunities to suit.
Every team is only as good as the members in it. If you are lazy and careless with your work, it will be sub-par and this will be noticed by others. For a team to operate at its optimum levels and to thrive and grow, every single member needs to work hard and do a great job. The positive energy created by everyone pushing for success can drive a team to achieve great things. Make sure you are part of the solution, not the problem.
So there you have it, my top 7 ways to be a team player at work. Whether you are the new Intern or the Managing Director, make sure you are friendly to your team, and be remembered for the right reasons. When all is said and done, who wouldn’t promote someone who comes to all the socials, is always friendly and who always turns out great work?
Are you a team player?