What makes a good team player? From communication to flexibility to collaboration, in this article, we highlight 8 of the top qualities that make a good team player.
1. Communication
A good team player is a good communicator.
You should communicate openly, clearly, and honestly with the group and express your opinion, offer insight, suggest ideas, and share information.
To be a good communicator, you also need to listen to others and respect their voice whilst being open to their ideas and opinions too.
2. Committed
As a good team player, you are committed to the team and achieving your shared goals and vision.
You are dedicated to the cause and are fully engaged in the work of the team and your role within it.
You care about the team and always contribute 110% effort to help it succeed.
3. Flexible & Adaptable
A good team player is flexible and adapts to changes in the team such as alterations in budgets, goals, team members, roles, and approaches.
You face new challenges positively without stress and can tackle anything unexpected that comes your way.
You are ready for change and can adapt to a constantly changing environment.
4. Reliable
To be a good team player you need to be reliable.
You do what you say you are going to do, follow through on tasks, meet commitments, and keep your word. You don’t make promises you can’t keep.
You stick to deadlines, go to meetings, and arrive on time.
You are trustworthy and people can depend on you to get your job done well every day.
Your teammates can count on you to consistently deliver quality work on time.
5. Support and Respect
A good team player gives support and respect to all other teammates.
You treat others with courtesy and consideration and are always willing to show understanding and offer help and support when needed.
You are empathic and listen to other’s viewpoints.
You give positive feedback, encouragement, motivation, and praise.
You give credit and celebrate others’ successes.
This support and respect go a long way to forming successful and happy teams.
6. Doing More Than is Asked
A good team player will always do more than is asked of them to help the team succeed.
You take risks, step outside your comfort zone, create exciting ideas, and take on more responsibilities.
You will go above and beyond for the team to take your team to the next level and help them grow and develop.
7. Positivity
A good team player is positive and remains positive when faced with difficulties, problems, and challenges.
You don’t get hung up on failures and instead see them as lessons to be learned.
You don’t complain and are not negative as negativity seriously drains team morale and impacts the success of the team.
This positivity helps the team to stay focused, productive and motivated to look to the future and achieve their goal.
8. Collaboration
Team players need to be collaborative at all times and work with others towards their common goal and shared vision.
You don’t just focus on your own success and understand that the success of the whole team is more important than your own individual successes.
You work together with others to solve problems, make decisions, and contribute ideas.
You focus on the bigger picture of the group’s progress over your own and your team’s goals are more important than your own personal goal.
You put the team over yourself as you know that you will achieve success by working together collectively rather than individually.
This post was written by James Carruthers, a team-building expert who runs ClueGo, an events company providing exciting, action-packed team treasure hunt experiences for corporate groups in the UK and beyond.
