Thinking Thursday
What is great teammate?
I opened the refrigerator yesterday after my wife had left for a business meeting. It was ungodly early. But, there it was in plain sight.
All my bottles were setup to feed my son for the day. A small, but brilliant gesture reflecting her understanding of my challenge for the day. Was I capable of doing it myself? Sure. Was I glad she took the extra step? Absolutely!
We all have teammates no matter the context: business, family & friends and sports. A great teammate (or a terrible one) is agnostic to the context. The result is always the same.
So, what is a great teammate? Ultimately, a great teammate sets the next person up down the line for success.
At work, you share all available information – not just the information you want to share – so the best decision can be made.
At the gym, you grab a floor mat for a teammate during floor exercises and return the weights to the rack so someone else can continue their workout without interruption.
Personally, you call when you are going to be late, so your friend doesn’t stand by idly waiting for you.
The best teammates are highly self-aware and emotionally intelligent. They are constantly anticipating needs before they occur. (It’s one of the reasons that I’ve loved hiring people from the hospitality industry because their livelihood and pay demand this skill.)
Terrible teammates, on the other hand, leave you in a crappy situation by not refilling the toilet paper.
Which teammate are you?
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