Being a team player at your design firm is a fast-track formula for getting recognized. Becoming known as someone who values the design talent as much as they support the firm’s goals can be a career booster for your soft skills portfolio.
Improving these skills requires the help of the employer and employee, so part of the success is up to you. Your relationships with your colleagues are critical to your success.
13 Ways You Can Be a Team Player at Your Design Firm
- Recognize your role. Understand your duties on the team; avoid taking over your supervisor’s role.
- Adopt a positive attitude. Bad news and negativity may bombard your team members daily. Try to see the positive in situations, regardless of how many change orders or redesigns the client wants.
- Avoid gossip, belittling, and being snarky. Pointing out the faults of others shows that you don’t recognize your biggest fault: blaming others. If you cannot be considerate, don’t say anything. Refuse to blame others.
- Lead when needed and follow when inappropriate. Geese fly in a V-formation that allows leaders to step forward for a while and then fall into the formation to rest on their long migrations. Do the same with large projects.
- Be helpful. Invite team members to help and be willing to help them. Welcome collaboration.
- Learn to solve problems. Find solutions and confirm them by asking for team feedback on your ideas.
- Promote the team and celebrate its success. To foster an inclusive environment, put the team ahead of yourself, and recognize its wins, big and small.
- Accept responsibility and be accountable. Admit mistakes and correct them when they happen. Be transparent when answering questions.
- Try it their way. Your team members have good ideas, too. Encourage sharing.
- Listen actively. Listening is an under-practiced skill, but it is one of the most valuable because it validates the opinions and observations of your team members.
- Do the work no one else wants to do. Volunteer occasionally for the unpleasant assignments and take one for the team. You will also learn more from challenging assignments.
- Ask for help. No one expects you to be perfect. You don’t have to expect it from yourself, either. When you work on a team, you excel when you rely on each other.
- Set a clear line between home and work. Work-life boundaries are critical for your mental and emotional well-being. Leave work at the design firm and enjoy your time away from the team. You’ll be more rested and ready when you return.
These soft skill qualities make for a top-notch talent team. If you’re ready to put your team player skills to work in a new environment, your recruiter can help.
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