What does it mean to be a good team player: 11 qualities

There is a really interesting scene in Ron Howard’s movie A Beautiful Mind. Nobel-prize winning mathematician John Nash, portrayed by Russell Crowe, exclaims at one point:

“Adam Smith said that the best result comes from everyone in the group doing what is best for himself, right? That's what he said. Incomplete. Because the best result would come from everyone in the group doing what is best for himself and the group.”

And if you don’t think Hollywood biopics are a credible enough source, according to Salesforce, 85% of employees cite lack of collaboration and communication for workplace failures.

To prevent this trend in your agency or organization, start by becoming a better team player yourself. We have rounded up all the insights, guidelines, and tips to help you do so in the article below.

What is a team player?

A team player is a person who puts teamwork first, even before their own personal ambitions. They function well within a group, and welcome things like communication and collaboration with their peers, as well as nurturing a positive and productive work environment.

Team players don’t neglect their own personal goals and ambitions, but rather harness them so that the entire team succeeds. In other words, they bring just the right mix of skills, attitude, and reliability to enhance the team’s performance.

How good team players impact project success

Team players are vital to the success of your project, and they contribute to the success of your project in multiple ways, including:

Increased productivity and efficiency: When you have a member of the team that supports and uplifts others, shares responsibilities, and makes workflows more streamlined, it results in fewer project delays and things moving more quickly.

Higher team morale and better team dynamics: A combination of a positive team environment and things moving smoothly and according to schedule helps members of the team feel supported, which in turn boosts their motivation and willingness to do better.

Higher innovation potential: As a result of support and a healthy team atmosphere, team members feel more confident in voicing their ideas and opinions, which opens them to different perspectives and solutions.

Stronger client relationships: Because team players play a big role in team collaboration and communication, outcomes become better in terms of quality, as well as reliability. Your clients start to realize they can count on your team, which builds trust and opens up the door to long-term collaboration.

How to be a good team player: 11 key traits and tips

Although being on good terms with your colleagues is one of the conditions for being a team player, you also need to be able to make tough decisions that benefit the group and be the voice of reason in controversial situations.

All things considered, to become a good team player, you need to have/implement the following qualities:

Reliability

The success of your team, as well as your projects, depends on everyone pulling their own weight. But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Sure, being reliable means that you get your work done on time every single time, but the reason reliability truly matters is trust.

When your team sees that you are able to show up and stick to deadlines, time and time again, even when unexpected issues arise, they will realize they have someone they can always count on to come through.

Let’s be honest, nobody likes to work with someone who bails on the team when things get tough. If you step up when things really matter, you will not only help the team, but also build your reputation as someone other people like to work with.

And that is pretty much priceless for any team or workplace out there.

Good Communication Skills

One of the building blocks of all great teams is communication. If your goal is to become a better team player, you should not only be able to communicate your ideas, problems, and concerns, but also to be receptive to the needs of others.

Here is what good communication skills look like in practice:

Active listening: Good team players stay engaged in the conversation even when it’s not their turn to speak. If other team members are voicing their opinions, listen to what they have to say, ask questions for additional clarification, and make brief comments.

Practice emotional intelligence: According to a study done by the Harvard Business Review, teams with high emotional intelligence are 20% more productive. Being able to recognize, understand, and regulate not just your own, but the emotions of others is essential.

Clear and concise language: Make sure that everyone around understands you, which means getting right to the point, and avoiding jargon and technical lingo.

Being respectful of others: Even if your role might be perceived as more crucial for the team, recognize that everyone else’s is just as important and support them.

Never brag: Instead, let your work and your results speak for themselves.

Collaboration skills

Working alongside your team members is one thing, but working together toward success is where it's at. It’s active rather than passive. You support others around you, and they support you.

Here is how you can embrace a collaborative mindset to become a better team player:

• Share information – Don’t keep your teammates in the dark when it comes to important updates, insights, or any other important bits of information that can help them.
• Mentor or coach other team members: Offer guidance, share knowledge and expertise, and support others on their way to success.
• Celebrate achievements: Giving props and credits where it's due does wonders for team cohesion and motivation, and keeps the morale of your teammates on a high level.

With ActiveCollab, as the name suggests, you and your team get all the tools you need for effective communication.

This includes both synchronous and asynchronous communication methods, such as built-in chat, discussions, mentions, and notes, as well as file sharing.

To make sure that a healthy work atmosphere is materialized through productivity, you can leverage ActiveCollab’s powerful time tracking and workload features to make sure nobody is overwhelmed or underutilized.

Last but not least, you can also benefit from detailed reports, which can help your team spot crucial insights and highlight areas for improvement.

With proper collaboration being a challenge for remote and hybrid teams, a productivity workspace like ActiveCollab enables your team to fire on all cylinders, regardless of location and time zone.

Integrity

Being a person of integrity will inevitably help you earn the respect of others, that’s pretty much a given. In the context of being a great team player, it means not just being dependable and trustworthy, but also honest.

And by honesty, we mean:

Not saying yes to everything: Know your limits in terms of workload and voice them to management when needed, commit only to what you can deliver, and don’t let others pawn their work off on you.

Hold yourself accountable: Nobody is perfect, which means you are going to make mistakes. It’s the owning up to them that makes all the difference. If you’ve missed a deadline, be upfront about it and make adjustments.

Deliver on your promises: If you’ve given your work to someone, make good on it. And if other team members’ work depends on you getting yours done on time, manage your time more effectively.

Adaptability

Your team is going to face changes or challenges along the way. As a good team player, you need to be flexible and able to adapt to any approach when necessary, as well as to new circumstances.

If anything, being a team player is about being a quick learner who can navigate changes with ease. Now, keep in mind that flexibility doesn’t mean you should bend over backwards. Unless you are doing yoga.

In a team environment, this means being able to find a middle ground when necessary. Do your best to stick with your guns if possible, but try and meet your teammates in the halfway.

On the other hand, push back against poor decisions and lack of accountability, but do in in good faith, and through a respectful dialogue.

Positive attitude

Positivity is contagious. Team members with a positive attitude inspire others around them. They stay optimistic during tough times and view challenges as opportunities rather than setbacks.

Even though it’s not a technical or even a tangible skill, positivity is that secret ingredient that can make a great team player.

If you approach not just your work but every meeting with energy and enthusiasm, you set the stage for higher team engagement, collaboration, and transparent communication.

When your teammates see your positive outlook on things, they will be more open to ask you for help or brainstorm their ideas with you.

And it becomes a two-way street, too, because they will be more likely to offer help when you need it.

Problem-solving skills

Problem-solving is crucial in a team environment. If you possess this skill, it means you can identify issues, generate solutions, and implement them effectively. All great team players are also critical thinkers who bring innovative ideas to the table.

How do you get better at problem-solving then? Try some of these guidelines:

Identify the cause of the problem: Once you find the reason behind the issue, you can solve it for good, as opposed to making temporary fixes.

Gauge how critical the issue is: Not every issue is urgent or critical to the success of your team. If solving a problem would have a huge and immediate impact, then make it your priority. Learning how to prioritize tasks takes a bit of time, but it’s worth the trouble.

Pick the most practical solution: It’s Occam’s razor in a way. When you have two competing solutions, pick the one that is more efficient and realistic.

Take Initiative

There is nothing wrong with doing what is asked of you, but if we are talking about becoming a true team player, it’s all about initiative.

Initiative means you take action without being asked. Team members with initiative are proactive and self-starters who contribute significantly to the team's success.

Taking initiative can take on any of the following shapes:

Forseeing tasks or issues before they arise: Instead of waiting for problems to come your team’s way, you can identify them early on and address them before they escalate into major setbacks.

Contribute without being asked to: You can be proactive in a number of ways, including taking on tasks when you have time to spare, generating ideas, or helping out your colleagues.

Lead by example: In other words, your actions should inspire others to become more engaged and take ownership of their work and roles.

Commitment to team goals and needs

It’s simple: committed team members are dedicated to the team's goals. They put the team's needs ahead of their own and are willing to put in the extra effort to ensure their success.

Their dedication motivates others and fosters a sense of unity within the team. And that’s the thing about being a team player: your efforts should “contaminate” the entire team.

In reality, your efforts should look like this:

It’s this combination of support, trust, and collaboration that not only makes you a good team player and coworker but also drives success for the entire group.

Know your role

One of the mistakes most people make when trying to become team players is doing too much, so they end up stepping on other people’s toes.

That is why it’s crucial to know that being a team player means understanding your role inside the team, where you fit in, what you need to do, and how your efforts contribute to the bigger picture.

Also, try to implement these tips:

• Stay in your lane, but be flexible: Focus on your own work, but be ready to jump in and help others when needed. Be supportive without overstepping.
• Trust your coworkers: Have faith in your teammates and their ability to get the job done. It’s not about doing everything.
• Be open to learning new things: Teams and projects evolve, and so does your role inside the team, which means you need to be open to adopting new skills and responsibilities.

Be open-minded

The basic idea behind teamwork is to gather a group of people with diverse backgrounds, skills, and talents, and get them to work together. In some cases, such as cross-functional teams, this sort of open-mindedness is an absolute must.

And so is this:

Acceptance of different work styles: Some people like freedom when working, other prefer structure. Just because something is working for you doesn’t mean it will be the best approach for others.

Compromise when needed: Different people will have different ideas about things that should be done. A good team player needs to be able to take the best elements from various points instead of sticking rigidly to his own approach.

Be open to giving and receiving feedback: Feedback, when done in good intent, is about helping people grow. If you are asked to give feedback, be tactful and respectful. If you are receiving it, don’t get defensive and keep an open mind to suggestions.

Conclusion – Become the ultimate team player with ActiveCollab

It’s fairly obvious that we live in an era where impossible to get anything done by being a lone wolf, let alone an entire project. And while each one of us is working with other people, not everyone is a team player.

Being a great team player is about your approach and attitude, not just your skills and experience. And while you should definitely be confident in those, you should also strive to support your colleagues and to be the person everyone wants to work with.

It also means leveraging collaboration tools like ActiveCollab to your team’s advantage in order to boost communication, make use of time-tracking and workload management features, as well as report.

Sign up for our 14-day free trial, or book a demo, and with ActiveCollab’s help, become the ultimate team player on a productive and successful team!