Regardless of your current position or job requirements, honing your teamwork skills will increase your appeal and make your career more pleasant and rewarding. Here are five things that will help you become a better team player:
1. Practice active listening. We offer this tip first for a reason. Many struggle with teamwork because they falsely believe their ideas are the best which makes listening to others difficult. However, in order for a team to be effective, a team player listens to what their associates have to share, measuring their ideas as objectively as possible.
2. Freely give praise. Another individual’s success doesn’t diminish your contribution. Your ability to recognize and acknowledge a colleague’s success is important; it builds morale and generates good feelings.
3. Take responsibility. Never point the finger of blame when something goes wrong; likewise, you should always take responsibility when you’ve made a mistake. Trying to justify your actions or unfairly shift the responsibility to a colleague never makes you look good. Your associates will appreciate your willingness to own your actions.
4. Cooperate. Offer your help when you recognize that a colleague is struggling or could use assistance. The purpose of a team is to combine your skills and expertise to accomplish a common purpose. This requires a hearty dose of cooperation.
5. Exhibit flexibility. A team must coordinate a large number of schedules, opinions, and ideas. In order for the team to be successful everyone must be flexible to a certain extent. Be open-minded and look for ways you can contribute by altering your schedule or changing your perspective.
As a financial professional, you have access to important information that can greatly contribute to a business’s success. However, in order for that information to be put to good use, you must practice teamwork skills. Applying the above tips will enable you to develop those soft skills that are crucial in the workplace.
If you found this article helpful, consider taking advantage of our other free resources; join our free accounting and tax forums, follow us on Twitter and like us on FaceBook. You’ll be surprised at how Universal’s virtual community will enable you to stay in-the-know.
