How well do you take to being "just a team member" and working alongside your team? - SmartBrief

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How well do you take to being “just a team member” and working alongside your team?

2 min read

Leadership

SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our e-newsletter.

Last week, we asked: How well do you take to being “just a team member” and working alongside your team?

  • Very well — I easily transition into the role of team member: 58.76%
  • Well — sometimes I transition easily but other times I’m challenged: 34.4%
  • Not well — I have difficulty changing my mindset and being a team member: 5.77%
  • Poorly — I actively resist situations where I have to work alongside my team: 1.07%

Welcome to the team. It’s easy to forget what it’s like to be a team member when you spend most of your days leading that team.  If you have difficulty stepping into a team role and letting someone else lead, you’re missing out on a great opportunity.  There are huge benefits to regularly assuming a team member role including better understanding the work your team does and building stronger relationships with the members of the team.  So every once in a while, free yourself of the mantle of leadership, roll up your sleeves, and join the team.

Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS and author of “One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.”