How to Be the Team Member Everyone Wants

Alexandra Levit tells how to be the team member everyone wants as follows:

• Be good at my job
• Be well networked
• Be a problem-solver
• Be willing to get my hands dirty
• Be respectful

It's a pretty good list IMO. Here's my (a bit shorter) list of how to be successful in your career:

• Deliver results 
• Be likeable
• Have a few, key traits that can grow your career no matter what field you're in

If you do these, you will be positioned to grow your career and potentially earn millions more than you would without them.

Agree or disagree?

Comments

[Jackie]

I agree, but I think that you also have to be friendly and noticeable. (Which I suppose goes along with being well-networked.) Quietly delivering results is one thing, but if people are aware of you you're likely to go a lot further.

[Everyday Tips]

What helped me was being willing to take on just about any task. Not only did my boss appreciate it, but it really grew my skill set.

[SAFTM]

Two things that have worked great for me at my job and are missing from here are: (1) treat your employer's money like it's your own. (This means to respect and not waste it. It DOES NOT mean to take it (it's not your own)!); and (2) be honest to everyone - good news or bad.

Adding these two traits to the items on this list virtually guarantees long-term success and increased responsibility (read: advancement and more money) at any company worth working at.

That's my experience at least.

[Budgeting in the Fun Stuff]

I agree with both lists and the traits mentioned by the other commenters. I would also say it boils down to being great at your job and willing to do more, being likeable, and being outgoing enough to network and be noticed in a good way.

[squirrelers]

Being able to make your employer money by improving the bottom line is vital, as is having professional social skills, as I like to call them. These 2, plus energy, ambition, and integrity, make one a good teammate and employee.

For career management, it's important to build and cultivate your network all the time, not just when you immediately need it. It's often said that a large percentage of positions are obtained by networking.

[Georgia]

Part of my job was doing something no one else wanted to do - vetting some of the work of coworkers. So, I began to brag about how I loved doing that job. If I found something that did not go onto their work record, but still needed correcting, I would send them a funny note. If you are telling them they did something wrong, give them a laugh first.

It worked. Everyone hospital wide knew who I was and teased me a great deal about it. I was first called ChartCop and later ChartNazi. The last year or so before I retired, they decided to have only 2 girls do this hospital wide. Guess who got first chance at the job? But - one note of caution. I loved doing this, but it had been a small part of a very busy job and doing that only became a little dreary. Think carefully everytime you want to change how you do things.