From the course: Teamwork Foundations
Deliver results reliably
- One vital duty of a great team member is to be reliable, to do what you've promised. So this means being on time yourself to meetings and appointments, and also delivering work on time. And that's going to require being organized. In a classic team situation like a baseball or a football match, the action happens over a period of just an hour or two, with nothing else going on at the same time. So it's relatively easy to remember what you're supposed to do and to make sure that you get your contribution right. But work teams have to keep a track of lots of overlapping jobs over a longer time period. And maybe you're in a number of different teams all at the same time. So being organized is vital if you're not going to let down any of your teams. So you must get your time management systems right, which means writing everything down, keeping lists, always replying promptly to all messages, and keeping all appointments in your calendar that you check everyday. Another aspect of reliability is emotional stability. The ideal team member would always be the same, not have different moods or even personalities depending on the situation. Or perhaps, from one day to the next. I've had bosses where you didn't know which one of their personalities you were going to get as you walked into work. And you don't want someone like that on your team. The ideal team player would always be the same and always remain calm under pressure. Now you may well be thinking, "well I do vary, "but I just can't help it." Or "I do get a bit aggressive when I'm under pressure. "That's just how I am." But these are just beliefs that you have about yourself that have become habits of behavior, and they don't have to be true. Starting right now, you could say to yourself "I always remain calm under pressure." Or "I am the same helpful person everyday, "whatever else is going on around me." And you'll be surprised how quickly you can change your habits. So summing up this section, I'd like you to ask yourself two questions. Number one, how organized are you? Should you write more down, for example? And number two, are you always the same or do you vary? Is this something that you could work on?
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