Being an Efficient Team Player

When working in teams it is very important to be efficient. Dictionary.com defines efficient as, “performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort; having and using requisite knowledge, skill, and industry; competent; capable.” Based on this definition, the main components of being efficient are making the most of your time and using resources that get you the best result.

How do we make the most out of our time?

This question can be answered by reading my prior blog posts. Two major components to making the most out of our time are communicating and being prepared. If everyone communicates and is on the same page, it is only natural that things will go smoother and faster. The same goes for being prepared. The more prepared we are the more ready we will be for any task at hand. If we are not prepared, we will have to prepare on the fly, or even get behind. This is clearly not efficient.

We also need to find and use resources that will best set us up for success with our teammates. Sometimes too many resources could hurt your efficiency and ultimately hurt the team.

For the past week or so I have tried to be more efficient in my teams. One big thing that I did was try to eliminate anything that was not going directly help the task at hand for my team. I was working on a group project and I put my phone away eliminated all distractions. On top of coming prepared and planning with my teammates, getting rid of distractions really helped me work better in my team.

Being an efficient team player can be a much bigger factor than people think. When I tried my new strategy of getting rid of all distractions, not only me, but my teammates got much more done. It was a very effective strategy and I will definitely continue to do it.

This small soft skill of being efficient really can help the overall soft skill of being a team player in bigger ways than people realize.

Don’t waste time!