The willingness to share is a trademark of a good teammate because it suggests unselfishness. Teams have a chance to be successful when they are unselfish.
Yet the act of sharing is often counterintuitive. Giving up what we already possess doesn’t instinctively make sense, and that is why sharing doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people.
It is ironic, since we are taught to share at an early age. Share with your sister. Share with your brother. Share with your cousin. Share with your friends. Share. Share. Share.
Let them have a turn!
With that much emphasis on sharing, it should come naturally by the time we reach adulthood. But it doesn’t.
Why is it that so many people continue to struggle with the concept of sharing?
The problem may be in their approach.
We work so hard to acquire things and that makes us reluctant to give them up. Perhaps we would be more receptive to sharing, if we looked at it from a different angle.
The concept of sharing is typically learned through the process of parting with our material possessions—our toys, if you will.
But sharing transcends just objects we can physically hold in our hands. In actuality, some of the most valuable sharing occurs outside of those confines, especially when you belong to a team.
Understanding that you are able to part with something and get something else back in return makes it easier to engage in sharing. You are not just giving, you are getting.
In essence, sharing becomes trading—a much easier concept to embrace.
With that in mind, here are seven things you can share with your teammates, other than your possessions, which will pay dividends:
1. Time. You may not be able to physically hold it in your hands, but you can certainly share it. Sharing your time could mean lending a sympathetic ear to a frustrated teammate. It could mean doing something you are already proficient at for the benefit of a teammate, like playing toss in the backyard with your son. Or, it could mean investing in your own self-improvement. If you’re an athlete, putting up extra shots or lifting extra weights is a way of sharing your time.
2. Talent. What gifts do you have that someone else doesn’t? Maybe you’re good with technology and one of your teammates isn’t. Sharing your talent with that teammate makes your team more efficient, and it ultimately allows that teammate to have more time to share with the rest of the team.
3. Training. Sharing your talent is using your gifts to help somebody else. Sharing your training is teaching those somebodies to help themselves. How did you learn to become so good at it? Use those methods to teach your teammates to become good at whatever it is you are good at. Knowledge was meant to be shared, not stored.
4. Thoughts. If someone does something well, acknowledge it! Let them know what you think about what they are doing. Your praise, or even just your acknowledgement, may inspire them to do more. The same is true if someone is doing something you don’t approve of. You may inspire them to do less. Keeping your thoughts to yourself can stunt your team’s growth.
5. Truth. Sharing the truth with your teammates leads to respect. Even if they don’t like what you have to say, they will respect your honesty. Successful teams are built on trust and that means sharing the truth.
6. Toxicity. What? You didn’t think everything on this list was going to be positive did you? Toxicity is something negative you can share, but you must be cautious to not do so. Whether you deliberately intend to or not, you can share your moodiness, your malcontent, and your toxicity with your teammates. That is why it is so vital to be a master of consistency when it comes to your mood, and to share your honest thoughts with your team…at the appropriate time and in the appropriate tone.
7. Trophy. OK, a trophy may be a physical object, but metaphorically speaking, a trophy represents your victories. Celebrating your victories—your trophies—is a way to recognize those who contributed to your success. No one attains success alone.
(A few months ago I wrote about sharing success in a blog titled “Victory Cake.” It is still one of the most popular pieces I’ve ever written. When I speak at events, that blog is inevitably something that people come up and mention to me. If you missed it, you can read about Victory Cake here.)
It doesn’t take wealth or skill to share any of these seven things. But sharing them will make you a wealthy and very skilled teammate.
As always, remember: Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
