Human beings are genetic team players. Since the beginning of our race, nature has taught us to hunt in groups, play in teams and live as tribes. There is no person on earth who is NOT a team player in one way or another. You could be a team member of a big corporate company, a sports league, an educational institution or just your own family or friend circle. What we don't realize is that even in our day to day affairs, we go about working as a team, from things such as bringing up a family, cooking in the kitchen, planning a birthday surprise for a loved one to the more obvious ones such as leading a project and giving that million dollar presentation at work. So, as a human, being a team player is ingrained in our DNA. But have you ever thought, what kind of a team player are you? Or let's put it this way: What is your primary style as a team player?
As per Parker, Glen, M. who worked on the New Competitive Business Strategy: Team players on Team work, there are four primary team-player styles - Contributor, Collaborator, Communicator and Challenger. Each style is characterized by a basic set of behaviors in an individual which contributes itself in its own unique way to the working of any group. At the same time, others perceive you based on these set of behaviors and identify your personality with certain descriptive adjectives. Let's take a brief look into what the four team player styles are and what set of behavior traits and attitudes get categorized in each style:
1. Contributor (Task)
The Contributor is a task-oriented team member who enjoys providing the team with good technical information and data, does his homework, and pushes the team to set high performance standards and to use their resources wisely. Most people see you as dependable, although they believe, at times, you don't see the big picture or the need for positive team climate.
People describe you as responsible, authoritative, reliable, proficient, and organized.
2. Collaborator (Goal)
The Collaborator is a goal-directed member who sees the vision, mission, goal of the team as paramount but is flexible and open to new ideas, willing to pitch in and work outside his or her defined role, and able to share the limelight with other team members. Most people see you as a big-picture person, but they believe, at times, that you may fail periodically to revisit the mission, to give enough attention to the basic team tasks, or to consider the individual needs of the other team members.
People describe you as forward-looking, goal directed, accommodating, flexible, and imaginative.
3. Communicator (Process)
The Communicator is a process-oriented member who is an effective listener and facilitator of involvement, conflict resolution, consensus building, feedback, and the building of an informal relaxed climate. Most people see you as a positive "people person", but they find that, at times, you may see process as an end in itself, may not confront other team team members, or may not give enough emphasis to completing task assignments and making progress toward team goals.
People describe you as supportive, considerate, relaxed, enthusiastic, and tactful.
4. Challenger (Question)
The Challenger is a member who questions the goals, methods, and even the ethics of the team, is willing to disagree with the leader or higher authority, and encourages the team to take well-conceived risks. Most people appreciate the value of your candor and openness, but they think, at times, you are self-righteous and try to push the team too far.
People describe you as honest, outspoken, principled, ethical, and adventurous.
Some people might point out as one team player style as being better than the other but I personally believe that from a professional perspective, there is no right or wrong style. A person's preference towards people with a certain team player style is usually reflective of his/her own individual working style. However, it is very important that any team is a diverse mix of different types of people. Imagine, if your team was made up of a bunch of challengers. In such an environment, each person would be busy questioning the opinions, goals and intentions of the other team members and in the end, nothing would be achieved. At the same time, if we had a team full of collaborators, the lack of someone being able to question the status quo and an increased need for everyone to accommodate every other person's opinion might also lead to an ineffective team dynamics that may fail to reach its highest potential.
So, in order to ensure that your team is an effective one, you should strive to have members that come from diverse team player working styles. This wide representation will help you create a solid team that feeds on an every individual's strengths and as a group, cover up for every individual's weaknesses. As for the development of your own personal leadership, it is important that you are aware of your own primary team player working style so you are able to identify your blind spots and work on strengthening them when the opportunities arrive. The truth is that we all have the ability to become contributors, collaborators, communicators as well as challengers but in reality, we usually use just one style, our primary style, based on our innate nature. As we become more aware of our own selves, we can then work to create a balanced approach based on the need of the situation in order to become a more effective team member.
So, where do you think does your team or organization stand? And more importantly, where do you personally stand? If you are interested in finding out your own primary team player style or that of your team members, you can send me an email at contact@harneetchawla.com I will provide you with a simple 18 question survey that will help you get a true assessment and develop a profile of your and your teams' strengths and thus provide you a basis for a plan to discuss strategies to increase your and your team's effectiveness as individual team players. Good luck!
As per Parker, Glen, M. who worked on the New Competitive Business Strategy: Team players on Team work, there are four primary team-player styles - Contributor, Collaborator, Communicator and Challenger. Each style is characterized by a basic set of behaviors in an individual which contributes itself in its own unique way to the working of any group. At the same time, others perceive you based on these set of behaviors and identify your personality with certain descriptive adjectives. Let's take a brief look into what the four team player styles are and what set of behavior traits and attitudes get categorized in each style:
1. Contributor (Task)
The Contributor is a task-oriented team member who enjoys providing the team with good technical information and data, does his homework, and pushes the team to set high performance standards and to use their resources wisely. Most people see you as dependable, although they believe, at times, you don't see the big picture or the need for positive team climate.
People describe you as responsible, authoritative, reliable, proficient, and organized.
2. Collaborator (Goal)
The Collaborator is a goal-directed member who sees the vision, mission, goal of the team as paramount but is flexible and open to new ideas, willing to pitch in and work outside his or her defined role, and able to share the limelight with other team members. Most people see you as a big-picture person, but they believe, at times, that you may fail periodically to revisit the mission, to give enough attention to the basic team tasks, or to consider the individual needs of the other team members.
People describe you as forward-looking, goal directed, accommodating, flexible, and imaginative.
A typical example of a Collaborator Team Player
3. Communicator (Process)
The Communicator is a process-oriented member who is an effective listener and facilitator of involvement, conflict resolution, consensus building, feedback, and the building of an informal relaxed climate. Most people see you as a positive "people person", but they find that, at times, you may see process as an end in itself, may not confront other team team members, or may not give enough emphasis to completing task assignments and making progress toward team goals.
People describe you as supportive, considerate, relaxed, enthusiastic, and tactful.
4. Challenger (Question)
The Challenger is a member who questions the goals, methods, and even the ethics of the team, is willing to disagree with the leader or higher authority, and encourages the team to take well-conceived risks. Most people appreciate the value of your candor and openness, but they think, at times, you are self-righteous and try to push the team too far.
People describe you as honest, outspoken, principled, ethical, and adventurous.
Some people might point out as one team player style as being better than the other but I personally believe that from a professional perspective, there is no right or wrong style. A person's preference towards people with a certain team player style is usually reflective of his/her own individual working style. However, it is very important that any team is a diverse mix of different types of people. Imagine, if your team was made up of a bunch of challengers. In such an environment, each person would be busy questioning the opinions, goals and intentions of the other team members and in the end, nothing would be achieved. At the same time, if we had a team full of collaborators, the lack of someone being able to question the status quo and an increased need for everyone to accommodate every other person's opinion might also lead to an ineffective team dynamics that may fail to reach its highest potential.
So, in order to ensure that your team is an effective one, you should strive to have members that come from diverse team player working styles. This wide representation will help you create a solid team that feeds on an every individual's strengths and as a group, cover up for every individual's weaknesses. As for the development of your own personal leadership, it is important that you are aware of your own primary team player working style so you are able to identify your blind spots and work on strengthening them when the opportunities arrive. The truth is that we all have the ability to become contributors, collaborators, communicators as well as challengers but in reality, we usually use just one style, our primary style, based on our innate nature. As we become more aware of our own selves, we can then work to create a balanced approach based on the need of the situation in order to become a more effective team member.
So, where do you think does your team or organization stand? And more importantly, where do you personally stand? If you are interested in finding out your own primary team player style or that of your team members, you can send me an email at contact@harneetchawla.com I will provide you with a simple 18 question survey that will help you get a true assessment and develop a profile of your and your teams' strengths and thus provide you a basis for a plan to discuss strategies to increase your and your team's effectiveness as individual team players. Good luck!
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