7 Ways to Get Better at Working With Others

Do you or your employees find it difficult to work in groups or collaborate?

This article comes from Entrepreneur.

7 Ways to Get Better at Working With Others

If you’re still in the corporate world, working on your side hustle, teamwork is an essential skill.

Here are seven ways to get better at working with others.

1. Provide clear and constructive feedback.

Group working situations can be fraught, especially when it comes to deadline pressure.

It’s OK to disagree with someone’s take, but rather than only emphasizing the negative, bring an actionable solution to the table that helps move things forward.

2. Give credit where credit is due.

If someone has a great idea, acknowledge it, not just within the team, but when you’re talking to supervisors or investors. It will make individuals feel valued and more invested in the outcome of the project.

3. Own up to your mistakes.

If something goes wrong and it’s your fault, be honest about it. Nothing can be fixed unless you’re upfront about what happened.

While you might have an impulse to underplay it or sweep it under the rug — don’t. It will only cause more problems later.

4. Understand your strengths.

Before launching into a project with a new team, it’s important to take inventory of you and your teammate’s strengths and weaknesses.

If you try to do everything and be all things to all people, you could burn out and end up alienating team members that just want to help achieve the same goal.

5. Set a schedule and stick to it.

Emergencies can throw everything out of whack, so from the start establish as a team some ground rules, such as when, where and how long you’re meeting. It is easier to carve out time to devote all your energy to the project instead of being pulled in all sorts of directions.

Figure out how people like to convene and talk things out. Are you fans of short daily meetings or a longer weekly or biweekly one? Would you rather do an email or chat update at the end of the day?

Just make sure that no matter what you choose, you’re all on the same page.

6. Be realistic about your timetable.

It makes sense that you’d want to do everything that is asked of you, but if someone in the group asks for a deadline that isn’t achievable, say so, and ask for some leeway or help.

While at first glance it might seem like they have unreasonable expectations, they may just not know about all the moving parts and how long things take to be completed.

7. Say thank you.

Kindergarten rules still apply. Gratitude goes a long way when you’re working in a potentially stressful situation.

A baseline level of courtesy helps with communication, maintaining a positive attitude and building ties among teammates.

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