More than ever, it's evident that teamwork is important and workers worldwide need to collaborate on a daily basis. Looking to participate? In order to increase your own productivity levels, you have to be a collaborative team player and aim to help others in your quest.

To be a leader and team player, you have to be capable of working with a diverse network of people. Teamwork isn't just good for company morale during these difficult times but it also sets you up for greater success at your current job. Teamwork brings different points of view together and allows for creativity to thrive. You also have reliable people that you can reach out to for support, which means that there is less personal responsibility required.

What’s the best way to go about working with other professionals? Check out these seven ways to be an optimal team player.

1. Meet All Project Deadlines

To earn your coworkers' trust, you have to be someone that they can count on. You want to establish yourself as reliable, i.e. someone who produces a high caliber of work in a timely fashion in order to meet deadlines. Staying true to your word is pertinent during group collaborations. If you miss a deadline, it can ultimately affect the outcome for the entire team.

2. Remain Open

Being an integral part of a team is remaining open to other people's input. That means focusing on your listening skills and accepting criticism from your co-workers. For instance, after completing a group assignment, you can ask your peers for suggestions on how to improve your approach on your next project.

3. Be Appreciative Regarding Other People's Work Styles

Strategizing on how you can work well with a variety of people can be challenging in today's diverse workforce. Making an effort to understand how each of your colleagues works can help you become a better team player. By tailoring your communication style towards different personalities, it can help you avoid problems with co-workers and collaborate more efficiently. 

4. Adapt More Readily

Keep in mind that not all work that you do is going to result in praise as there will be your fair share of mishaps. If you get upset it prohibits any progress that you’ve made so far in your journey. Flexibility will be one of your key traits as a team player. So the next time you come across a problem, make sure you respond with care. 

5. Avoiding Any Office Politics

Strong teamwork compatibility is important for a healthy work culture. Office politics can create a toxic work environment—even when you're working remotely—but you don't have to be a part of it. Stay out of the rumor mill. In order to achieve this, I always treat my coworkers with dignity and respect. If you have a specific issue with a coworker, try to address it with the person directly before bringing it to upper management.

6. Focusing on the Shared Team Goals

You always want to distinguish yourself as a top performer. However it's still important to focus on the long term outlook when collaborating on a group project. At the heart of being a team player is being willing to put the team's interests above your own. 

7. Celebrate Your Peers' Achievements

One of the easiest ways to build great relationships with coworkers is to give credit when and where it's due. Team players are humble and these types of people have no problem pointing out the contributions of others. They look to share credit while emphasizing the team over themselves and defining success collectively rather than individually. At your next department meeting, take a minute to publicly thank that coworker for helping you put together last week's client presentation. By celebrating a coworker's success, the other person will most likely do the same for you at some point.

Transitioning into a management position isn’t just about landing the promotion. It’s also about making sure you can handle the role in addition to the associated day to day responsibilities which are frequently quite different from what you’ve already been accustomed to. Managing and leadership skills must be acquired over a period of time. To successfully follow your path to a senior-level position, build your management skills as listed below in order to boost your chances of success.

Becoming Aware of Both Your Strengths & Weaknesses

At higher ranks within a company, it’s helpful to have some previous knowledge regarding your strengths and weaknesses including what makes you work the most efficiently. One consistent way to build on this is to look for feedback from your coworkers and be open to it. 

Make Decisions & Exude Confidence 

As a manager, you have to be willing to make the hard calls, to make complicated decisions and choose a new path forward when necessary. Teaching yourself how to make the least ideal decision based on what you know right now motivates the people around you to move forward. You might be wrong but if you don’t move forward, you can’t gather the information in order to make better decisions in the future. 

Sticking To Time Management Deadlines

When you’re a sole contributor, a lot of your work is reactive and task-based and your scope of work output is fairly defined and limited. As a manager, there often comes a point where you can’t get everything done in a timely manner, so you’ll need to be good at time management and prioritization. This will also be true of your personal life and you’ll have to work hard to establish boundaries around the things that are important to you. 

Knowing How To Delegate

Utilizing the ability to handle your time wisely is going to benefit you immensely in the long run. It will be important personally to know how to do this since you can’t do everything yourself.

Learn How To Develop Strong Written Communication Skills

Now that you’re managing a team of professionals, it is crucial that you’re sensational at communicating about workflow, deadlines and prioritization amongst other things.

Another top management skill is asking questions and being a good listener. Check in with your team to make sure that they understand what you’re telling them and listen intently to their answers. 

Managing Upwards

Filling the role of a successful manager often means that you have got people below you as well as above so you have to be able to wear multiple hats in that sense. Learning how your superior prefers to communicate, how they like to receive news and updates and of course understanding the politics of the office.

When signing up to be a mentor to a junior employee, you might think that the arrangement is in favor of the mentee. Due to the traditional workplace dynamic, it sees you doing a majority of the work while the employee only has to absorb your experience and benefit from it. What you may not realize at first is just how much your career can gain from the mentoring experience. The following list of benefits highlights how you can stand out in the eyes of potential future employers.

You Improve Your Company’s Performance

You’ve got years of experience and historical knowledge regarding your particular company which means that you can help point your mentee in the direction that will yield the best outcomes with the least amount of time wasted. In high-level roles, you are likely to oversee the department’s budget, strategize on long term campaigns, delegate responsibilities and manage the people who produce quality work in order to support those projects. This leaves you very minimal time in order to stay current which is where trends and innovations begin to appear. By mentoring a junior associate, you can become privy to all the activity that happens within your industry. Having that unbiased perspective can help guide you to better ways of operating which increases your value in the eyes of your co-workers and superiors.

You’ll Be A Better Employee

As a mentor, you are going to get feedback eventually. Good leaders require active listening skills which you will need to utilize as a mentor. Remain open and receptive to feedback from your mentee regarding your leadership style, how well you listen and how you are able to provide suggestions. Your strategic-thinking skills will be challenged. By observing your mentee’s professional development and taking note of their success and problems, you can tweak and improve your own leadership and management practices. Keep in mind that not every mentee is the same, so you’ll come to understand how to best advise people with different learning styles.

You’ll Boost Your Reputation

As your former mentees rise through the ranks and capitalize on the many successes that you helped them achieve, their careers may lead them to some potential job offers. Maybe they will bring you along when they make the move.