Working With Others

For me, striving to be “someone others want to work with” has two sides. It is being an individual that you would want to work with, as well as, one that others would want on a team. Working with others is very important and could be challenging at first, but once you find a good team and quality group members, whose skills compliment each other, working in a team will be more efficient than working alone.

To be an excellent team member, you must first become someone that you would want to work with. This involves sharpening skills that you have and learning new skills that you believe will aid you in a team working scenario. To establish what skills are needed, it is important that you put yourself in your teammates’ “shoes” and think from their perspective. On the other hand, you need to be someone that others want on a team. This means that you must be open to opinions from other group members so that the project is a product of everyone’s creations. More importantly, you must also be open to criticism from other team members. This will allow you to change and adapt to the working environment of the team so that each and every member is working efficiently and comfortably.

When I work with others, I am organized, productive, and I take initiative. I believe that every group needs a leader, and if one is not present, I am not afraid to take that position. When working in a team I am always the first to take initiative and to organize the work that we are required to complete. What I believe is most important, is that I am always communicating with my fellow team members politely and informatively. I also encourage my teammates to work diligently so that no one feels stressed or left out.

I am always trying my best to make it easy for people to work with me in the future by being more open to criticism and willing to learn new skills. To be someone’s favorable teammate in the future, I make sure that I am not afraid to stop and step back and listen to other people’s ideas and comments. I understand that working in a team means having to agree about many things and being able to professionally solve disagreements. Most importantly, I am always learning new things and I am eager to adapt and develop new skills that a group may be lacking. When working in a group, I never try to be above someone but instead put myself on an equal level as everyone else. I also strive to be as organized and productive as possible, so that I am an important member of the team; one who completes others in terms of team work. All these things combined allow me to leave a lasting impression on group members which in the long run can make me a favorable colleague to those around me.