Be A Great Teammate

Be A Great Teammate

We need great leaders, but the continuous focus on leadership and leadership development, has diverted our attention and focus on what organizations also truly need – high performing teams. The coming new year is a chance for each and every one of us to commit to being a great teammate.

“Working in teams provides people more opportunities to release their creative ideas and increases their sense of belonging.” (Robert Half, 2021)

Even though many of us work remotely from our team, creating a sense of team and connection is more important than ever. Hybrid work is here to stay. Declaring you want to be a great teammate will help you contribute to your team’s success and your own.

I use the word teammate here instead of team player. I define a team player as someone who is willing to do what is needed to support the team, and that’s a good thing. Being a great teammate is doing whatever is needed to support the team and actively seeks opportunities to do so.

As an HR professional and leader of teams, I’ve seen that working with great teammates keeps employees feeling connected to the organization, committed to growing their careers, and achieving more at work.

So What Makes a Great Teammate?

Think of teammates you really enjoyed working with. What words would you use to describe them? How did working with them make you feel? It’s likely that they were:

  • Approachable, open to feedback and actively sought it.
  • Knew what they did well and consistently delivered with quality.
  • Met commitments and helped others do so as well.
  • Able to get others excited to work with them.

Great Teammate Tips

Being a great teammate is a conscious decision. As you begin a new year with your team, here are some tips to help you grow your abilities as a teammate.

Create a Help Exchange

  • Ask your teammates what they need help with and share what you need help with.
  • Identify one of your talents or skills and let others know you can partner with them. For example, “I’m really good a MS Excel macros if anyone needs help” or “I have some good report writing hacks I can share”.

Be Brave 

  • Seek feedback from colleagues and peers regularly. When you ask for input on something important to you, the person you ask will feel honored to give it.

Show Kindness

  • Balancing life and work is hard. We never know what a colleague may be experiencing. When we show kindness, we open up the possibilities to create healthy and positive work relationships.                  

Teams are truly powerful and are the key to great work places. Teams that can collaborate and work well together, have more fun and are able to keep turnover, disengagement and poor performance at bay. Be a great teammate.

Want to learn more? Let’s connect and discover what’s next for you in your career! info@upwardhr.ca

Pauline Greenidge
info@upwardhr.ca

Pauline Greenidge is an HR Consultant and Chartered Professional in Human Resources. She empowers others to create positive employee experiences. Her book A Grand Dinner Party is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

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