A team today can look completely different than it did three or four years ago. Five years ago, many employers did not allow a work-from-home option. Five years ago, your team members probably lived in your local area. Five years ago, your team meeting consisted of everyone meeting in the large conference room to discuss updates within the company. Today looks nothing like five years ago. Today, employers work to ensure they provide a remote or hybrid option if they want to attract and retain quality employees. Today, your team members may live in another country. Today, a team meeting consists of several Zoom windows with blurred backgrounds or cameras off. Regardless of what your work environment looks like today, having quality team members is just as important to your success as your contribution. Here are three quick tips to determine if you are a quality team member:
1. Humility. Humility is not a lack of confidence. Humility does not mean you cannot sing your praises. Humility is what allows you to be honest and acknowledge when you make mistakes. Humility is what causes you to ask for help when needed as opposed to missing deadlines because you want the recognition all to yourself. Humility considers what is best for the team and takes into consideration what it will cost the team before playing hooky. Practicing humility will allow your team to support you in whatever you need. Humility makes others trust you. Others will be willing to make sacrifices on your behalf. A humble employee has the support of people who don’t even like them. True story.
2. Strong Work Ethic. You must pull your weight. You must do your part. This is not the same as having all the answers. You can ask questions. You can say that you do not know the answer. But you must be willing to do the work to figure it out. You must be willing to show you are putting your best foot forward to get the job done. You must be hungry! If your goal is to get promoted or get recognition from management, your work ethic will speak more about you than you can say about yourself.
3. Emotional Intelligence. I call this “Reading the Room”. If your coworker is busy, this is probably not the time to stop for a quick chat because you have free time. Instead, ask if you can help them so you both can go to lunch. Emotional intelligence understands that you do not run to your coworker’s desk for the latest gossip after seeing them leave a closed-door meeting with the manager and appear upset. Read the room. Pay attention to your team members’ mannerisms: are they moving quickly as if they are running out of time, do they appear upset, do they have on headphones? These are all ways that team members will intentionally show you that they are busy and probably racing to meet a deadline. They may be working through something personally, or they just don’t want to be bothered right now. Do not ignore the signs because of your selfish intentions.
Whether you are the manager or an individual contributor, you still work with others in some form or fashion. Take note of these skills and determine if you are a good teammate. Do not make excuses for why it is okay to go against any of these traits. Instead, look for ways to improve and make yourself someone people want to work with and not someone people want to avoid. Feel free to share these tips with your team. If you are comfortable enough, have the team call out which of these traits they see in each other.
The Transform Tuesdays newsletter was created to help professionals in corporate positions navigate this world of corporate America by overcoming the hurdles hindering them from growing to the next level in their careers, including knowing their value, using their voice, and being authentic to themselves.
Sherrika Sanders has been an accountant by trade for over 15 years. During her years as a corporate accountant, Sherrika progressed through various roles from Revenue Accountant to Corporate Controller. She worked to develop consolidated business processes, post-acquisition financial integration, and Fresh Start Accounting upon emergence from Chapter 11 within seven months of initial filing during her time as an Assistant Controller. Sherrika resigned from her role as Corporate Controller to take a leap of faith and start her own company, Transform the GAAP (Goals Assigned Achieving Purpose), where she specializes in helping employees on the accounting teams of Private and PE-backed organizations increase their productivity by identifying errors and inefficiencies in their current processes to meet organizational deadlines and professional goals. If you are seeking one-on-one or group coaching sessions, click on the following link for a complimentary consultation on how you can work with Sherrika to Transform the GAAP together. Sherrika believes in a judgment-free zone where all are contributors working towards a common goal. Visit https://www.transformthegaap.com/ to learn more.
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