If you define yourself as creative, humble, and fair, you’re the team player that we’re looking for. Read or scroll till the end of the page to apply to our open positions.
Working with colleagues is the reality of most jobs, and while being part of a team can be greatly rewarding, it also brings real challenges. Every job will bring stress, especially as competition increases.
Today, your business may not be competing just against other companies in your local area. You may be competing against companies around the world. The pressure to get ahead can be immense.
But helping your team run smoothly—regardless of whether you are a leader or just a worker—can give you a competitive edge. Being a team player may sound like a cliché, but the benefits of working together are very real.
After all, team members who collaborate on a common goal will likely get more done than team members who bicker and fight, so here are three skills that can help you be a great team player.
Be humble.
Some people tend to equate humility with being weak or passive, but that really misses the point of humility and how important it is. A person who is truly humble thinks realistically about himself, properly recognizing both strengths and weaknesses.
A person who is proud will think more of himself than he should. He will have an unrealistic view of his abilities.
Instead of boasting about your strengths and being fearful of your weaknesses, seek to be honest about them. Part of being a team player is understanding what role you need to play. Ideally, that role should be one that takes advantage of your strengths while avoiding your weaknesses.
By being humble, you can more effectively demonstrate your true talents and prove your worth to the team.
But humility also includes a proper perspective of others. A proud person focuses on himself, which will tend to disrupt how the various team members work together. If one person is always looking out for himself rather than for the team, the rest of the team suffers.
When you are looking out for the needs of your coworkers, you encourage them to do the same. Yes, some may still be selfish, but many will appreciate your thoughtfulness and seek to reciprocate, which brings us to the next point.
Be a peacemaker.
The reality is that working with people will always involve conflict. Sometimes colleagues will struggle to work together peaceably, and high-stress situations can easily make an otherwise small disagreement turn into a heated argument.
When team members are fighting each other, the work will not get done. But if you can help heal rifts between your colleagues, you can be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. If you see someone struggling with a task, see if you can help. If you can’t, try to find someone who can.
The key is fostering cooperation so that the burden of work is taken up by the entire team, with everyone’s strengths focused on productive tasks.
Be fair.
Fairness is easy to see in customer relations. Treating customers fairly can build long-term loyalty, which is far more valuable than short-term profits. But fairness with your coworkers can be harder since you work with them every day.
You likely work with some people whom you do not necessarily like, and even good workers will have off days sometimes.
To cultivate fairness, when you interact with your coworkers, try to look past idiosyncrasies and personal feelings and focus instead on how those people fit into your team.
What are their strengths and weaknesses, and how can you help maximize their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses?
When problems arise, look past the emotions of the moment, and focus on finding an unbiased solution to the problem. While it may be enjoyable (for a moment) to give the coworker who annoys you the worst job, don’t give in to that petty attitude. Instead, make decisions objectively and truthfully. When you do that consistently, coworkers will probably start recognizing that you are seeking to do what is best for the team.
That attitude helps encourage camaraderie. As the old saying goes, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”
Being a team player means being selfless.
You may have noticed that one of the recurring themes of being a good team player is selflessness. Focusing on yourself is easy. We all do it, and you do need to make sure that you are taking care of your family and your health.
But we are all prone to focusing so much on our own issues that we miss opportunities to help others, even when they are right in front of us.
Your colleagues need your help. If you can build a culture of cooperation and mutual respect in your company, you will do more than become an excellent team player. You will help build an excellent team, so stop thinking so much about yourself.
Go help your team.
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