Are you a good team player? That’s a skill that has become more and more important as technology has fostered an increased culture of collaboration in the workplace. Training for this skill starts early with group sports and other competitive group activities. But the behavior is first introduced even earlier in kindergarten when we learn how to interact with others.
Kids learn how to share space with others and work together kindly and share with each other. We teach our children to respect each other, to contribute, to establish clear boundaries, and like the song says, “everybody do your share.” This is the foundational ideology of being a team player. So, if we begin learning these principles so early, why do people still have a hard time being a team player?
As children grow up, they decide which values they will carry with them from their education. Ideally, they remember what we teach them and maintain these principles throughout their work. This is not always the case. Have you ever had to do a group project in college or high school? It seems like every time you find yourself in this scenario, one, or more likely, several of your partners do not do their parts to make the project successful. These people are not team players, and while they might be able to skirt by with this behavior in school, it will eventually come back to bite them.
If you notice that your child is not a team player, try to correct this behavior early on. There are very few jobs that can be done singularly anymore. There’s a good chance that your child will have to work collaboratively in his career, and not having developed this skill can set him back. Encourage your child to participate in group activities such as sports, choir, plays, and the such that force your child to learn how to work with others towards a common goal. This is a skill that will greatly benefit him in the future.
- Bria