Signs Of A Good Team Player

By Author: Pm Campus
Total Articles: 17
Comment this article

In order to succeed on a project, you need to have a good team that you can rely on. However, picking a team of individuals that will be effective can often be difficult. If you are in the process of building a project management team, here are some signs of a good team player:

Takes Instruction

One of the first things that a project manager should look for in a candidate before bringing him or her on the team is the ability to take instruction. In a rapidly-moving business world where protocol and compliance are necessities for businesses, you need to be sure that you have a team member that can listen to directions. A good way to gauge this is to judge how well they followed the directions given to them leading up to the interview such as punctuality, resume submission as well as work samples. Chances are if your candidate followed each order given meticulously, then they will be a good fit.

Listens Intently

As the late Stephen Covey once said, one must seek to understand before being understood. A very important attribute to success is the ability to listen. Listening ...
... provides feedback on our performance and allows us to understand other people’s expectations whether it be a client or co-worker. It is the essence of communication. If a candidate is unable to listen, then they will have many difficulties helping others and being completely clear to them as well. If someone is much more interested in talking than in listening, it may be a sign that this person is not a great fit for your team.

Learns from Failure

An integral part of succeeding in any setting is to learn from failure, this is especially true in the project management setting. In work as in life, failure is a part of the growth process. It is through getting things wrong that we learn how to get them right and exactly what went wrong. Failure actually provides many unique opportunities for understanding and growth. It builds character and provides clarity. Without failure, we never improve our performance and become stagnant or complacent. Similarly in a work environment, the best team players are not those who don’t fail, but those who learn tremendously from each mistake and try not to repeat them. The ability to emerge from mistakes is indicative of growth potential as well as team leadership. Both of these are qualities that you want to have on your team.

Ask Questions

Often the difference between good and great lies in the questions that one asks. Asking the right questions reflects curiosity and conscientiousness. It means that one is willing to learn and to listen which is a great sign for a team member. Quite often in projects, things move at such a rapid pace that it is easy to get confused. For many, the impulse to remain silent and not ask questions can have a negative effect on productivity. A good team member seeks to clarify any discrepancies and remove confusion. This means that they ask questions intently to make sure that they are performing to the best of their ability.

About The Author

Pmcampus.com explore different ways to help motivate your team when you are tasked with a PDU course and PDU Leadership. We have trained thousands of PMP exam candidates to pass their PMP exam at first try. We are leaders in online training for PMI's PMP certification, CAPM certification and Project management online pdu.