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Good teammates are invested in their fellow teammates. What does that mean?

It means you care about them on a deeper level. It means you see their failures as your failures. It means you share in their agony and rejoice in their success.

It means you put your time, your energy, and your talents into helping them reach their potential. Their “outcome” matters to you.

An invested team is a connected team. Connected teams have strong bonds and high levels of loyalty. Connected teams achieve.

So how do you become a connected team? You invest in your teammates.

Here are three thoughts from Warren Buffett—perhaps the most famous investor in history—on financial investments that can also be applied to teammate investments:

1. “If you don’t understand a business, don’t buy it.”

Really good investors do their homework before they acquire stock in a business. They want to know its leadership structure. They want to know its financial history. They want to know its projected earnings.

The same is true for good teammates. They want to know their teammates’ stories. They want to know what drives them. They want to know their likes and dislikes.

And just like in the financial world, good teammates understand the responsibility to acquire that information is on them. They don’t expect others to just reveal important details, they strategically seek answers and ask questions before they invest their time and energy into a relationship.

2. “Our favorite holding period is forever.”

Good financial investors are in it for the long haul. Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway didn’t get where they are on the backs of short term investments. They expect their investments to pay dividends indefinitely.

Good teammates enter into a relationship with the other members of their team with the same kind of commitment. This perspective leads them to put extra effort into nurturing the relationship. Bonds with good teammates are for life.

3. “You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”

Financial wizards know there are no shortcuts. The process of making a good investment takes time.

So does building a relationship with a teammate. If you try to fast track the process, it will come across as disingenuous, and it won’t last.

The investment you make in a teammate must be sincere and your efforts must genuine. He or she needs to know you really do care.

As always, remember: Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.

Lance Loya is the world’s preeminent authority on the good teammate mindset. He is a college basketball coach turned author, advocate, and professional speaker, who inspires TEAMBUSTERS to become TEAMMATES. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or through his weekly Good Teammate blog.

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