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In September, we launched a new Good Teammate Assessment Quiz on our website. Over the last two and half months, tens of thousands of people from 50 states and 31 countries have taken the quiz. The response has been unbelievable!

One comment that we keep hearing from people who’ve taken the quiz is that they scored lower than they expected. I am not surprised by that feedback, as I expected that to be the case.

Most people overestimate their “good teammate” abilities. They think they are better teammates than they are, especially when their self-assessment lacks context.

By nature, we tend to measure ourselves by the relativity of our surroundings. When compared to the selfish people on our under-performing team, our behavior can seem exceptional. But when compared to the selfless people on exceptional teams—true good teammates—our behavior can fall short of the mark.

Take for instance the category of loyalty. Of the six categories assessed in the good teammate quiz, the loyalty scores have consistently been the lowest. I suspect the reason for this to be the product of ignorance, as opposed to arrogance.

Most people want to be good teammates and consider themselves to be loyal. Though when pushed, they frequently reveal that their loyalty is contingent upon others being loyal to them. Their loyalty is bartered. (i.e. If you’re loyal to me, I’ll be loyal to you.)

Good teammates don’t operate that way. Good teammates are loyal to their team and their fellow teammates regardless of what they get in exchange for their loyalty. To them, loyalty is an unwavering commitment to the team’s ideology and is contingent solely upon their belief in its ideology. This philosophy is why good teammates are able to humble themselves to serve the needs of their team.

Many of the people who scored lower than they expected on the quiz described their reactions as moving through three stages: defense, acceptance, and reflection.

At first, they doubted the validity of the assessment. They became defensive and tried to refute the results. But then they calmed down and accepted their score. They realized that they answered the questions honestly, so the results were probably accurate.

After they accepted the results, they began to reflect on their answers. They acknowledged that maybe they aren’t as good of a teammate as they thought they were and that they have some behaviors they should try to improve upon.

Their ability to arrive at a point of reflection where they are willing to consider their need for improvement speaks more to their character than their score on the quiz. Their receptiveness to the possibility of being deficient shows humility. And confident humility leads to growth.

The good teammate quiz is an effective method of getting team members to see themselves through a different lens. The quiz gives leaders an opportunity to discuss deficiencies with individuals who need to be better teammates.

Around the same time that we launched the good teammate quiz, we also launched an online video course designed to help teams improve teamwork. The response to the course has been equally unbelievable.

Leaders who’ve had their teams complete the course have raved about the impact it had on their team’s culture. Both the quiz and the course are intended to get individuals to think about 1) what sort of teammate they are, 2) what does it mean to be a good teammate on their team, and 3) what do they need to do to be a better teammate.

A desire to discover answers to those three questions sets the wheels of team success in motion.

As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.

Lance Loya is the founder and CEO of the Good Teammate Factory. He is a college basketball coach turned author, blogger, and professional speaker, who inspires TEAMBUSTERS to become TEAMMATES. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or through his weekly Teammate Tuesday blog.

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