Qualities of a Good Team Player

We talk a lot about team play in sports and marvel at how well they work together to win either a game or a  championship.  So how do we translate this to the world at work?

Here are seven tips for becoming a good team player—whether on the baseball diamond, the basketball court, or in the workplace!

1. A good team player keeps their commitments.  When you work on a team, by definition you depend on the other team members to get your work done so it is critical to hold up your end of the bargain.  Once a commitment is made to a project or any deliverable, you must complete your assigned tasks so that the deadline is met.  And, if you find you can’t hold up your end of the bargain, a good team player lets the rest of the team know in advance so other arrangements can be made.
2. A good team player supports the other members of the team.  This includes picking up the slack when someone has a family emergency or taking the time to sing the praises of a co-worker—just because it’s the right thing to do.  Supporting the work of others makes the entire team more successful. And, a good team member avoids gossiping about co-workers!
3. A good team player appreciates the work the others contribute and says thanks!  It can be highly meaningful to your co-workers to hear you say how much you value them and the work they do.  It also is a great idea to pass along praise to your manager as well.
4. A good team player handles the inevitable changes that occur with grace.  Deadlines and priorities are constantly shifting in today’s organizations.  Rather than fighting the change or complaining about what the change will do to your work or your life, accept it and move on.
5. A good team player consistently exceeds expectations which ensures that projects are successfully completed.
6. A good team player takes pride in the work they do but also in the accomplishments of others on the team.
7. A good team player works hard to increase their skill and/or knowledge.  A good team player is a continuous learner!

Teams are important. We dedicated a chapter to teams in The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook. We’d love to hear your ideas on what makes a good team player so send them on and we’ll share them in future blogs.

Successful Mergers—Not an Oxymoron

Mergers and acquisitions were at an all-time high in 2015.  There is some indication they will slow down in 2016 because it is an election year but probably not by much.  However, just because there are a lot of mergers does not mean they are successful. In fact, at least half of all mergers are not successful—which means, they don’t meet the long-term revenue goals set out that define success.

The first step most organizations take when considering a merger is to put a team together which typically consists of the CEO, the CFO, and maybe the Chief Marketing Officer.  So the focus is necessarily on the numbers—what is it going to cost us to make the deal?  What new markets will we get from this transaction?  How will this merger increase our revenue, our profits, and our shareholder value?

Missing from this team are experts to focus on the people issues. Savvy organizations are learning that the sooner they involve HR in the process, the greater their chances of success.  People drive the business and in any merger, it is extremely important, early in the game, to understand the strengths of each organization’s workforce and to determine who the key players are.  It is also critical to understand the organizational culture of each company and to determine if the cultures can successfully be merged.

Here are some of the ways HR can add value early in the merger process:

·       Identifying the talent in the prospective organization

·       Assessing organizational culture difference

·       Reviewing labor contracts, if applicable

·       Planning and executing layoffs, if necessary

·       Putting retention strategies in place to retain key talent

HR also brings experience in change management.  Many people fight change and people experienced in change management can head off some of the potential disasters such as a decline in performance or, even worse, the loss of the superstar talent that you wanted to take this new company forward!

Patrick Shannon, a San Francisco based partner in Mercer’s talent practice says, “Organizations need to think about the diligence around their talent decisions with the same rigor they use for their products, their operations, and their customer decisions.”  How will those decisions be made if HR isn’t represented in the process?

HR just may be the key to a successful merger so be sure to include them in every phase of the merger process.