Every person who belongs to an organization has a duty to be a contributor instead of a reactor. Here are the best tips on how to become a more effective team player.
John Maxwell explains teamwork in his book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork and makes it clear that the old methods of leadership, which are largely built around autocracy, don’t work in this Information Age. The only way to win business and the loyalty and commitment of employees is to create a collaborative and supportive team environment.

It’s very important for an organization’s leadership to understand the difference between having a team and functioning as a team. The functions are interrelated and the team should be working toward the same goals.

Here are suggestions on becoming an effective team player:

1. Always strive for superior-quality communication. In real teamwork, there should be more than just an exchange of information. Communication should encourage interaction between different members of the team. It’s not enough that everyone knows the plan. There must be consensus on whether the goals are in line with the vision of the group and organization as a whole. Also, the roles of every member should be properly identified. This is to prevent redundancy and to ensure all roles are assigned properly. To prevent misunderstanding and conflict, each member must keep their lines of communication open.

2. Know the role each member plays on the team. In a team, every member performs different functions, though they may overlap. It’s important to clearly define these roles up front to ensure efficiency and maximum productivity. Keep in mind that when it comes to teamwork, what one member does can affect other people’s work because roles are interrelated. As much as possible, get the details that are connected to each person’s role. If something is unclear in a role description, make sure that responsibilities are clarified with a team lead or a subject matter expert.

3. Make sure the team possesses the right skills for the job. When building a team, don’t focus on numbers alone. The right talent must be sought. The team needs to ensure that people whose knowledge, skills, and experience match the project needs are identified and added. Sometimes no matter how well-developed the teamwork strategy is, the group is only as strong as its weakest link. Until this is compensated for, the team will never be able to function at its peak. Coaching or additional training may be required in order to prevent this from becoming a true liability.

4. Ensure that the team easily adapts to change. Organizations do change, and so do teams. Roles are added and deleted, employees will leave or be reassigned, and clients change their requirements or entire focus. Solid team work demands that everyone be adaptable to this change. If problems have become overwhelming, a change of course and new decision making may be required and all responsible people should be given an opportunity to be involved in the decision-making. This should not be borne by just team leader.

5. There should be respect among team members. Honesty, transparency and courtesy are mandatory for a strong team to do its best work. Mistakes will be made, people will disagree. The ability to “fess up” to errors and to listen to conflicting ideas indicates an emotionally mature team. Everyone learns to appreciate each others strength’s, weaknesses, and beliefs. Respect fuels great teamwork by mitigating conflict and fueling creative discourse.

6. Encourage everyone to be results and solutions driven. In a team, there are far more important things than dwelling on mistakes and the “what-if’s”. It is a team leader’s responsibility to ensure that each member is geared towards achieving the right results or solutions to issues that arise by outlining upfront what the project objectives are. When there is a mistake, encourage team members to consider it and then move on.
Effective teamwork is the hallmark of a successful organization. Ineffective teams equal ineffective organizations.