Team Players: More Than a Cliche

You can read all about team players in the latest business books and Dilbert cartoons. But behind all of the jargon and overused sports analogies, is a great deal of truth. In fact, I would venture to say that a co-worker who is a team player is the best kind to have around. An acquaintance of mine who is the CFO of a major company said that his number one qualification for job candidates is “team player.”

So what is the big deal exactly with team players? Why is the value of team so important?

There is much to say about working as a team, but I think that it is most important to note that certain skills can be learned and perfected, but an ability to work well with others does not come as easily to some. Finding someone who is committed to building relationships and maintaining them is an essential quality to look for.
This is not to mention that you can have perfectly competent and otherwise nice people who can fight like cats and dogs. Unless they are committed to working at a team, they can make for a stressful and unproductive work place. Such disputes can be even more devastating in non-profits where the staff is typically small and each employee typically wears several hats.

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