Ever wonder if you’re failing your team? Perhaps your team is failing you. In tech, this seems unavoidable. Learning is a lesson in letting people down and in my current project–this feeling burns and looms over and suffocates. I think this has to do with trust. Teams are built on trust. If there is no trust in a group, they are at risk of becoming dysfunctional. There has to be a certain level of mutual understanding in order for a team to grow and succeed. Further, team problems. It often leads to lowered productivity and absenteeism which creates economic losses for the company and other negative consequences. So, before tensions grow into conflicts and become deeper issues, they need to be resolved as quickly as possible.
One idea is to provide feedback. I believe in holding regular one-on-one meetings with team members to discuss their progress and achievements and establish conditions for pay raise and promotion to fuel their motivation and engagement.
Working on a team can be challenging for those accustomed to working alone (like me). Teams bring different opinions, ideas and ways of working, which can be incredibly helpful for collaborative projects. However, this environment can sometimes be difficult for those used to independent thinking and solo projects. In the team I’m currently in, some are more skilled than others and this can cause frustration when trying to make deliverables.
If you’re a professional who prefers to work on your own, it helps to have a strategy for approaching and thriving in team-based work environments. I think often when professionals struggle with working on a team, it’s because roles and expectations are not clearly communicated at the beginning of the project. Highly organized individuals can have difficulty when there is a lack of structure.
To improve the ability to be a good team member, I think improving communication skills and working on being clear, concise and deadline-driven. If you can adjust your communication to this style, it will minimize miscommunications and make sure everyone is on the same page. Once everyone is on the same page, we can then work together to achieve the goals of the team rather than getting stuck focusing on our own goals only.
