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How to Be a Good Team Player and Excel in the Business World 

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Team Player

Teamwork is an essential skill that every professional has to possess. Regardless of the industry in which you work, you need to make sure that you know how to effectively collaborate with others. The truth is that no man is an island. While you may prefer to work alone on certain tasks, it’s important to ensure that you’re pulling in the right direction. 

Chad Price, CEO of MAKO Medical Laboratories, is well-versed in collaboration. Having started the now well-known company with his brother and business partner, he utilizes teamwork in every aspect of the wider business. The approach has led to a huge amount of success for the testing laboratories in the eight years since the company was founded. In the following article, we take a look at how you can follow in the footsteps of CEO Chad Price and cultivate a workplace culture based around efficient collaborative activities.  

Research Says Team Players Achieve Career Success 

Underestimating the power of teamwork is a mistake. As a manager, chances are you will have seen the power of collaboration first hand. When you’re overseeing a team of people, you have to make sure that everyone can pull their weight and work toward a common goal. However, the evidence behind teamwork is not merely anecdotal. There’s research to suggest that this approach to managing a work-flow leads to high levels of success. 

According to a two-year study from the American Society for Horticultural Science, individuals have the chance to develop higher-level skills when working collaboratively. The study focused on students — but the findings apply to people from all walks of life, not least professionals. The research found that when students worked together as part of team-based activities, they quickly developed a diverse and vital skill-set. The results suggest that teamwork can help prepare professionals for future success in the workplace. 

Approaches to Being a Good Team Player  

To some professionals, collaboration comes naturally. It is an instinct and something that they don’t need to be taught. However, not everyone is so lucky. If you tend to prefer to work alone, you may have to spend some time learning how to work effectively with others. Fortunately, there are some simple strategies you can employ that will help you with this mission. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can enhance your teamwork: 

Improve Your Communication Style

Are things getting lost in translation? When you’re working with others, you have to make sure that you understand each other well. That means getting your message across but — equally — ensuring that you listen to their ideas too. Oftentimes, it can be hard to find the right balance. However, when you get this right, it can make all the difference to your workload. Take the time to figure out how you best communicate with your team members. 

One approach that you may want to try is active listening. When people are talking to one another, they often make the mistake of listening on a surface level. As the other person is talking, you may already be putting together your next point. That is an error. So that you can fully understand the other person, you need to be active in your listening style. That means fully concentrating on everything that the other person has to say. You may find that it is helpful to ask questions throughout the conversation. For example, if there is anything that is not fully clear to you, you can ask the other person to clarify their point. 

Focus on a Shared Goal 

Whenever you’re working as part of a team, it’s vital that you focus on a shared goal. For instance, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Chad Price and the MAKO Medical Laboratories team were focused on offering accurate testing and results. Since the entire company worked together, they were able to complete more than 10 million virus tests. It is hard to imagine this type of success without every member of the team working toward the same vision. With that in mind, before you start any project, make sure that the end result is clear to everyone who is working on it. You all need to be on the same page. 

One of the biggest oversights that professionals make — in the world of work — is thinking that only their achievements matter. You may spend a wealth of your time trying to reach goals that only pertain to your workload. While you might think that that will help you get ahead, the opposite is true. When you are not working toward the same goals as the rest of your team members, you will be an obstacle in their way. For that reason, you should always consider how your individual input helps the wider department reach their targets. 

Inspire and Lift Up Your Teammates

Excellent managers have the power to inspire those around them. When you are overseeing a team, you need to be focused on this activity 100 percent of the time. Motivating your staff to work hard, stay on task, and be as productive as possible is always going to be a top priority. For that reason, you shouldn’t be afraid to offer compliments when they are well deserved. If a team member is excelling in a certain aspect of the role, be sure to let them know that you have noticed their hard work and appreciate it. 

Within the ranks of MAKO Medical Laboratories, the management team along with CEO Chad Price are always generous with constructive feedback. The team is constantly communicating with one another and sharing their views on the latest projects. Having that level of transparency has allowed the company to grow and develop together in recent years. As a manager, it is essential that you do what you can to lift your team members up. That may mean giving them feedback or even supporting their career development. 

Conclusion 

Whether you’re a manager or an employee, strengthening your teamwork skills will help both you and your business succeed. There are plenty of approaches you can take to work toward this goal. However, in this article, we have highlighted three that you may want to utilize for yourself. It’s worth taking the time to sharpen your collaborative skills.

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