Every organisation’s success relies on effective teams and modern teams are often made up of a diverse mix of individuals and circumstances. They may be cross functional or multi-disciplinary. They may be collocated or collaborate remotely. They may be made up of familiar co-workers or complete strangers. There may be cultural or language barriers to overcome in order to work together successfully.

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision; the ability to direct individual accomplishments towards organisational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie.

Regardless of the team situation, the basic principles of being a good team member apply. In almost everything you read about being a good team player, there are the same lists of basic qualities such as being honest, fair, respectful, reliable, responsible and a good communicator. But there are more skills required to be an outstanding team player. Qualities that don’t always get the proper attention.

• A good team member shows genuine commitment. There’s a tangible difference between someone who shows up to work on a team and someone who is genuinely committed to the team’s goals.
• If you are committed, you are in the office when needed, and you make sure that your seat time is worth it by contributing as much as possible while you are there.
• The best team gets involved. It does not serve you well to just sit quietly and do your work in a silent mode. You should not stay in the shadows, instead, get involved with your team. If you don’t know something , find out by asking team members a question.
• Strong team players come to their teammates prepared with their questions and ideas clearly thought through. Solid team members need to be transparent. Sharing opinions and ideas is important as long as they don’t actually belong to someone else. You don’t have to take credit for everything. Giving ideas for ideas you are sharing earns you respect and trust.
• As an outstanding team worker, you must be ready to help even if it is not in your job description. Be generous with pointers or tips to help your team members. For example- If a member is experiencing frustration when using a new technology that you are experienced with, offer your help and share what you know.
• Along those lines, a great team player works to be a problem solver not problem makers. Help resolve problems even if they aren’t directly yours. If a teammate is stuck with a problem she is working on, take the initiative and try to solve it, or at least help.
• This earns you respect and is sure to come back at you someday in a positive way. When you have a problem in the future, it may be you on the receiving end, especially if people remember how you’ve given of your time before.
• As a great team player, recognise and acknowledge when you are wrong. The point is to work hard and be good at what you do, not try to be right all the time. Being stubborn is not a quality of a good team player. Team members respect when you are wrong, or when you back off an idea when it is clear it is not the right path.
• If you strongly believe that your team is making a mistake, you can usually find a way to come back to the issue when the time is right. And if it happens that you are correct, accept it gracefully.

There are a lot more characteristics or skills required to be a great team player which provide a solid starting point for successful collaboration. So here are top 10 skills required to be a great team player which are a blueprint for beginning the work of successfully working together with others.

1. Work For Consensus.

A great team player works for consensus on decision:

• Strives for agreement by all members of the team on solutions or decisions being made.
• People may have different ideas of what the best solution is and often compromise has to be made so they strive for compromise.
• A good team player shares openly and authentically with others regarding personal feelings, opinion, thoughts and perceptions about problems and conditions. This means sharing what you really believe, not just going with the group because that feels easiest.
• If you disagree with something finding the strength to say your truth respectfully. When everyone in the teams shares their real opinion, things get solved better quicker and best for the organisation or the team.

2. Involve Others.

Involving others is another aspect of a good team member so involve others in the decision-making process:

• Ask others for their opinions and take all opinions into account when making decisions.
• Compromise and see if all those opinions can work together somehow in the solution.
• Trust is extremely important, you need to trust one another to have a good functioning team.
• Trust, support and has a genuine concern for other team members:
• Sometimes it is difficult if you have personal issues with a team member and find it very difficult to trust them, an exercise that works is to every day for 30 days, write down one positive thing about that person.
• Every single person has some positive characteristics if you will find and select and focus and nurture the positive characteristics in the person. It will go a long way to helping you to begin to trust that team member and what that team member brings to the team as a whole.

3. Owns Problem.

Own your own problems because a good team member owns problem rather than blaming them on others:

• Example- If you didn’t complete the work that was required on time. When speaking to the team “own” that problem. Say something like ‘I am sorry I didn’t get it done’ and leave at that. Do not say ‘Well I didn’t get it done because Bill made me do this and Jane made me do that’. These things cause unrest in the team.
• Own your problems. Apologise and move forward. Every single person in the world makes mistakes, it’s not the worst thing ever so apologise and begin again.

4. Active Listening.

One of the important skills required to be a great team player is to listen actively. When you are listening you attempt to hear an interpretation interpret the communication from the other’s point of you.

• An important part of the success of the team is team players absorb, understand, consider ideas and opinions without arguing every point.
• Listen to ideas, build on good ones, take them further, strengthen them and consider implications. In order to do this, you have to be actively listening, evaluating, not just waiting for your turn to speak.
• If you don’t quite understand what the person is saying then ask for clarifications.
• Respect is extremely important among team members. A good team member respects and is tolerant of individual differences.
• It’s OK to disagree with one another but it’s not OK to be disrespectful when doing so.

5. Acknowledges Conflict.

A great team player acknowledges conflict. Acknowledges and works through conflict openly.

• If you disagree with someone’s solutions, state that you disagree in an non-argumentative manner. Use words like ‘I feel this, I disagree with that’.
• Don’t keep the feeling inside and feel angry and carry that with you or later talk to the other team behind the person’s back.
• Sometimes when conflict arises the team after the meeting or when the team separates, someone who’s angry or disagrees with something will try to speak to team members separately and try to get them on board and try to divide the team.
• Be very honest in your team environment and share what you agree and disagree with.

6. Consider New Ideas.

A good team member consider new ideas and uses new ideas and suggestions from others:

• You may be very sure that you have that perfect solution but listen openly to all ideas.
• There are no bad ideas really and all ideas may have some merit in solving the problem. So listen openly because something in someone else’s sharing may enhance your idea and that’s how a team works together.
• A good team member encourages feedback on their own behaviour.
• This is openly listening to others opinions on your behaviour as a team player but does not accept or include personal insults.
• Example: If someone on your team says ‘Mike, I think you are kind of dominating this discussion. I think we need to let others have a chance to speak’. That’s a feedback on behaviour, you may feel a little insulted but he’s only speaking to your behaviour at that moment.

7. Commitment.

A good team member is committed, understands and is committed to the team objectives.

• In order to be a good team player you need to be fully committed to the team objectives and be able to participate fully as a team player.
• For example- If you are working on a team that is a fundraiser for a non-profit or charitable cause. But if you don’t believe in the cause then you can’t be fully committed.
• A good team member doesn’t engage in win-lose activities with other team members.
• You should not encourage the sides, power struggles within the team environment because the team needs to be a solid cohesive unit.
• If there are sides in a team very often and quickly the team gets dissolved.

8. Professionalism.

One of the important skills required to be a great team player is professionalism.

• Effective team players deal with other people in a professional manner at all times.
• Behaviour is always appropriate and beyond reproach, upholding the highest standards.
• A good team member can always be relied on. Relied on to get work done, do their fair share, work hard and meet commitments.
• It is important that a good team player follow through assignments, not usually but always.
• A great team member, whatever required, they will be there doing their bit.
• If they commit to completing or doing something for the team, by the end of the day, they will complete it.
• If they say they will represent a group at a 10 AM meeting, they will be up at that 10 AM meeting. You don’t need to check them if they have forgotten.

9. Consistency.

A great team member is always consistent, their standards are consistent and they can be relied on to deliver quality work.

• If their output of the work is excellent one day but on average other days, they will be viewed as inconsistent, possibly even unreliable.
• A great team player is consistent in being a constructive communicator as well. He communicates constructively, expressing opinions, thoughts and ideas clearly, directly and honestly.
• They contribute to the discussion in a positive, confident and respectful manner.
• If the group considers an idea that a good team member knows is flawed, they will speak up but constructively.
• If they have got an alternative suggestion that might be preferable, they will discuss it with the group.
• An effective team member is consistently objective and fair, makes positive contributions, and respects others in the team. They don’t become emotional even if they disagree.

10. Contributor.

Another skill required to be a great team player is to be a great contributor.

• Good team players are active participants. They arrive at team meetings prepared for the agenda, listen and contribute to discussions.
• They are fully engaged in the team’s work and completely committed.
• They help make things happen, volunteer for assignments and their attitude is can-do: “How can I contribute to the team’s success?”
• They share and contribute in information, knowledge, experience, make efforts to keep other team members informed and up to date.
• A lot of teamwork is achieved through informal communication rather than through discussion at organised meetings.
• Effective team members feel comfortable talking to others, keeping them up to date on important news and information day-to-day, keeping team members in the loop with information, and expertise that helps get tasks achieved.