22 May Are You A Good Team Player? Take our quiz!
I took an informal poll of 33 people and 31 (94%) said they were good team players. I believe that is representative of how most people would answer. Is it true? What does it really take to be a truly good team player? Take our quiz below to find out.
On a scale of 0-10 rank yourself in each of these ten areas.
1. I accept personal responsibility for the outcome of the team. I do whatever it takes for the team to be successful and I never BLAME someone else for any kind of failure. Give yourself a 10 if you never play the blame game (on your team at work or home). Give yourself a 5 if you catch yourself and change your approach. Give yourself a 0 if you’re still looking for someone to throw under the bus when something goes wrong.
2. I listen more than I talk in team meetings. I want to hear everyone else’s input and ideas so that the best decision can be made. Give yourself a 10 if you always listen more than you speak. Give yourself a 5 if you are aware of this, and while you don’t do it 100%, you catch yourself and shut up. Give yourself a 0 if you want to do all the talking.
3. I allow others to finish their thoughts before I speak. Give yourself a 10 if you never talk over someone else. Give yourself a 5 if you are aware and let others finish most of the time. Give yourself a 0 if you finish other people’s sentences for them.
4. I show up for meetings on time. I am focused on the team and not my phone when in meetings. I am consistent and reliable. I meet my deadlines. Give yourself a 10 if yes to all of these all the time. Give yourself a 5 if you get any of them right most of the time. Give yourself a 0 if you are late, on your phone and miss deadlines.
5. I am flexible and willing to help wherever I’m needed. I never say “that’s not my job”, and I look for others who are struggling and offer my help. Give yourself a 10 if yes to all of this all the time. Give yourself a 5 if you do any of these consistently. Give yourself a 0 if you only worry about your tasks.
6. I show up positive, focus on solutions and honor other people’s perspectives without making them wrong. Give yourself a 10 if yes to all of this all of the time. Give yourself a 5 if negative still shows up and you catch it, reframe it to positive, and recognize that your truth is just your truth. Give yourself a 0 if you feel like your opinion matters more and that it’s ok to be negative because you are just being realistic.
7. I have taken time to get to know my team members. I know about their families, what’s important to them, what they do for fun. Give yourself a 10 if you can list (and name) the people and things most important to each of them. Give yourself a 5 if you can list (and name) some of the people and things most important. Give yourself a 0 if you are lucky to know their names.
8. I ask questions before I react so I know how to appropriately respond. I demonstrate empathy for someone else’s situation. I care about my team as human beings. I recognize that I never know what’s going on with someone unless I ask them. Give yourself 10 if you are empathetic and willing to be there for others. Give yourself 5 if you do this more often than not and desire to do it all the time. Give yourself 0 if you react first and often put your foot in your mouth because you jumped to conclusions about someone else.
9. I bring the enthusiasm to the team. I take responsibility for bringing positive energy and I am looking for ways to raise the vibe for myself and my team. Give yourself 10 if this is you all the time. Give yourself 5 if you recognize when the energy is low, and you shift yours to raise the energy of the whole. Give yourself 0 if you sit like a bump on a log and just feed off everyone else’s energy.
10. I trust my team and they trust me. I have taken the time to build a trusting relationship with each individual. I know they have my back and they know I have theirs. Give yourself 10 if you consciously develop trusting relationships with your team. Give yourself 5 if you are building that trust through accountability (doing what you said you would do when you said you would do it). Give yourself 0 if you don’t trust them and they don’t trust you.
Being a great team player requires you to be a great leader. It requires practice, conscious thought and then more practice. For any area where you scored less than ten, I invite you to consciously work on that area and observe the benefits to both you and others as you improve.
For the opportunity to experience what a truly great team member looks and feels like, join us for our next 3-day High5 Intensive where you will get to be on a high-performing team. Email me at Barb@High5Leadership.com to schedule a call to see how this could benefit you and your teams.
The only way we get really good at something is to practice it. Make being a good team member a daily practice in your life.