Qualities Every Team Player Needs

Teamwork is one of the best ways to increase productivity, promote creativity, and ultimately boost revenue. Working in a team can be extremely rewarding and beneficial to your personal career path. However, being part of a team also has its own challenges. Teams are a collection of individuals with their own personalities and ideas. Also, for teams to work, they need direction, focus, and a good leader.

It is true that some people are more adept at working in teams than others. You may prefer to work through problems on your own without the input of others. Or, you may have a strong personality and set ideas about how things should be done. It could easily frustrate you when other team members don’t pull their weight but still receive the same amount of praise.

If you are a team leader, knowing the qualities every team player needs can help develop effective teams. Also, if you are part of a team, the qualities listed here can help you be a more productive team player.

7 Qualities of Successful Team Members

Let’s look at the 7 most important qualities to develop if you have to work as part of a team.

1. Self-awareness

The first quality to develop as an important member of a team is knowing your strengths and weaknesses. The point of a team is to bring together individuals who have different skills that complement each other. So, find out what your best skills are and work on developing those. Don’t try to fulfil all the roles required in a team as you may dilute your best strengths.

2. Communication skills

Teamwork involves using a number of social skills to work together with other team players. Honest communication is the key to working in a team. However, this should be balanced with tact, awareness of others’ feelings, and knowing when to speak up and when to keep quiet.

3. Commitment to the team

Good team players don’t try and go it alone or work on their own agenda. As part of a team, you should be committed to the cause and goals of the team. To be a good team player requires not just being there for meetings, but to make a worthwhile contribution to the team.

4. Reliability

One of the challenges that some have working in a team is collective responsibility. If one team member is late with their task or provides poor-quality work, the whole team suffers. It is essential to be reliable so that every individual in the team can depend on you. This will not only earn you respect from your other team players but it will improve the overall teamwork.

5. Honesty

Honesty is essential in all aspects of business, but is especially needed when working in a team. There are a number of situations in teamwork where honesty is essential. Here are a few examples:

• Not shifting the blame to someone else for your own mistakes
• Not taking credit for work you didn’t do
• Being upfront about your abilities to get tasks done in the required time
• Not gossiping or bad-mouthing about other team members

Good and effective teamwork is based on trust and honesty. This allows everyone to know where they stand and will also foster a spirit of unity among the team.

6. Positive

One of the qualities that makes you a valuable team member is staying positive, especially if you face challenges. The importance of positivity was highlighted in a study by the University of Warwick. Researchers found that happiness caused workers to be 12% more productive. The reason? Happy employees work more efficiently, make better decisions, and boost overall morale among other employees.

7. Adaptable

There are many times where adaptability is essential in teamwork. Sometimes, you may have to adapt to the work methods of other players in the team. Working remotely or in a virtual team setting could mean that you have to learn to use new technology. Or, you may have to collaborate with team members who have different personalities.

Being flexible in these situations will make you a valued member of any team and your contribution will earn you respect from other team members.