How to Work in a Team

Working in teams can be hassle for a lot of us, and it's not always that you get to have a team which suits your needs. Here are some tips which can help not just you, but your entire team shine!

Communicate:

If you have a particular opinion pertaining to a matter at hand, let everyone know. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts. At the same time, pay attention to what the other members in your team have to say, because listening is just as important for communication as talking. If you take others seriously and show enthusiasm for their ideas, you will most likely be treated in the same way. Make sure your members know that you are serious about your work and that you are just as important a member as they are.

Understand:

You need to that you're not always right with your way of carrying out a plan. Maybe you have come up with a stellar idea of how you want to carry out an event that is completely fail proof. But unbeknownst to you, one of your team members has done this before in the past and they know from experience that such plans always end in tragedy. Perhaps if had not been so caught up with doing everything your way, you could have prevented a miserable failure from taking place, and saved time on the way.

Be open minded:

Try to understand the other members' point of view. It is imperative that everyone be heard in a group. That is precisely why it is a group and not an individual project. Even if someone's idea doesn't appeal to you, make sure you note it down. Make sure you consider it's productivity. Whether that idea forces you to abandon your comfort zone or squirm with second thoughts- if it's going to work, do it. At the end of the day, nobody's going to ask whose idea it was. They are going to see if it worked.

Cooperate:

Be efficient and dedicated towards the tasks at hand. Committing to a group means you have given your word that you will do whatever it takes to help your team succeed. This means, if you are assigned a task, have it done by the day it is supposed to be completed. Do not procrastinate. Leaving everything to the last minute will only portray a bad image of you to your team members. Whenever there is an additional workload, do your best to help everyone sort out the dilemma. This will assure the others that you can be relied upon.

Complain:

Yes. You should complain. If something has been bothering you, let the respective member know. If you feel you are being singled out, excluded, overburdened, disrespected, or whatever it may be, the last thing you should do is sit around and wait for the time to pass. If you express your concerns, you might be surprised to find out that no one in your team had been aware of your situation. Perhaps they had been unknowingly leaving you out and would've never found out if you had not raised your voice.

Don't be aggressive:

A large portion of people like to scream and throw tantrums when things aren't headed in the direction they wanted. However, they do not realize the ugly image of themselves they are portraying to the rest of the team. It is easy to lose your cool and and resort to violence to be heard, but you will never be respected or liked. Similarly, if something has upset you, don't whine or be rude about it, just calmly explain how you feel, and hopefully you will be heard.

Don't be a doormat:

Learn to say no. Don't bite off more than you can chew, and don't be forced to do so either. If you let yourself be pushed down, you will be pushed down further. It is not necessary that your group members will be your friends, therefore they will not particularly care about your burdens, unless you fight for your rights. Don't let someone else be a free rider while you finish your tasks- and then theirs too. If you are the only one who has to work overtime while the rest of the team parties, there is something wrong. Put an end to it before it gets completely out of hand.

Don't discriminate:

As is common with every group, people tend to split up into smaller subgroups. Often, a few people become the self appointed leaders of the team, creating a triumvirate. Now this might seem difficult, but you need to avoid falling into this malicious trap. It doesn't seem obvious to the members of the ruling party, but the subjects beneath them often feel resentment and somewhere along the way, they stop feeling like part of the team. The best team bestows all of its members with equal respect and importance.

#article #team #teamwork