How to be a smart team player

Your attire, language skills and ability to solve problems will help you get noticed.

Team work and being a team player is a favourite subject among most successful leaders.

As a leader, one has to reiterate the message of team spirit because more often than not, the leader's biggest challenge is managing synergy and collective accountability of a team.

Lack of trustworthiness and frequent use of blame game dominate most teams' dynamics.

Leaders find it easier to manage teams than individuals with distinct demands and preferences.

A good leader believes in 'we' rather than 'I' and often evaluates everyone in his/her team with the same set of calibrations and parameters.

With similar tasks and almost similar KPI's (Key Personal Indicators), most employees find it difficult to stand out with their talent and capability.

To become a distinctive team player you have to do something different.

Here are some tips to help you get noticed:

Always look your best

A little extra care with your health and fitness, a dash of style in your mannerisms and clothes and a well groomed personality always gets the world to notice.

Pay attention how you choose your attire to work.

Be communicative

The art of communication is the language of leadership.

Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.

Improve your language skills; be assertive.

Be resourceful

Be a broker of capabilities; know where you can get help.

Have everyone to look up to you to find a useful resource.

Reality check: How many such resources do you have in your phone book?

Be a creative problem solver

Look at most problems as opportunities to use both sides of your brain.

Learn to have a 360 degree view of the situation. Do not overlook the obvious facts and assumptions.

If your ideas are orthodox, it's time you unlearn and try something new.

Strive for excellence

This is a personality trait of wanting to better your best always. Of being careful, or vigilant not to deliver anything that is mediocre or low in quality.

This implies a desire to do a task well, being coachable and curious, as opposed to being easy-going, stuck and disorderly.

Work on these simple things and make them a part of your everyday habits.

Direct your efforts to make small improvements in how you manage your daily challenges and notice the difference it makes in your career.

The author Alina Menon is executive coach and performance trainer at Edify Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

Lead image used for representational purposes only. Image: GraphicMama-team/Pixabay.com