What To Do About Team Member Mismatches

Help! I am a long-time professional writer and self-employed person who has recently taken a “real job” for a new company. My boss sat me down this morning and said he’s noticed I really don’t like working with others, and it’s true! I am famous for doing skilled, fast work with little supervision, and trying to do the job now at hand — write a book, “by committee,” with two other “teammates” who are not good writers — is almost physically painful for me. I do want to keep my job, so I need help!!!!! Is there an online workshop I can take to help me?

The Team Doc Says…

There’s probably a reason why you worked independently for so long. It’s your strength and it suits you well. You may want to think long and hard about staying in this job.

If you must stay, you’ll want to make sure you “play nice” with other team members. I want to congratulate your supervisor for taking the time to tell you what he observed. Many supervisors don’t have the courage to do that, so he did you a favor.

I’m not aware of an online course that will help you be a better team member. Working in a team requires a set of behaviors that each individual team member must demonstrate. I can help you implement some key strategies to help your team be successful.

First, clearly define your team roles. Sit down with your other team members and map out who will do what to accomplish the objective of your team. Make sure each member has a defined role that leverages what they are best at.

Second, make sure your team is communicating well. Effective communication strategies include listening, resolving conflict and providing feedback. Regular and frequent communication between team members is what is required here.