How to be an Effective Team Player To Improve Your Career

Playing as a good team member is vital in any project if you want the outcome to be successful. The use of good coordination and communication reduces the likelihood of tension in the group which could lead to the dissolvement of the project. Read below for super snappy tips on how to be the best team you can be.

Listen. Make sure that everyone has an equal say in the group and people’s opinions are being taken into consideration. Do not talk over each other as this will not end well and will most likely dissolve into arguments. Listening to each other will also lead to a very happy and positive environment which result in a better working environment.

Good Communication. Make sure you make the time to be able to meet up and talk in order for ideas and progress to be known by everybody. As soon as a new decision is made each team member has to be made aware of it so conflict is not introduced. Create a group mailing list, group chat on WhatsApp, a conference call, or skype call, anything you can think of to keep each member in the loop. It is also important to remember if there is an issue arising, talk directly to the person and talk it out, do not try and discuss it with other people.

Equal Contribution. No one like it if a person takes a backseat in a project and then claims responsibility for it after. Make sure this is not you. It is always a good idea to segment the project into doable work loads and distribute accordingly in order to make effective use of the time available. Another way to be effective, is to delegate jobs according to team members skills, therefore the jobs will be completed to the highest quality.

Fix Issues Early. If you notice that there is tension or an issue within the group, fix it as soon as possible. For example, if one team member has gone rogue or is not contributing enough, try and get in contact with them. Worse can scenario, you carry on without them in order to get the work-load complete. I am pretty certain that your boss will not like it if you come back with an uncompleted task.

These four simple rules should help your team succeed and therefore group projects and tasks will be the best they can be.