These Entrepreneurs Share Ways to be an Effective Team Member To be an effective team member one has to the ability perform both as an individual as well in a collective capacity with the colleagues or employees.

Team is the principal cog in any performance. Be it an event, a game, a show or a business organisation, it is always a dedicated set of team members, who write the success sagas, through effective and collective contributions.

In business, effective teamwork is the secret behind growth and success. To be an effective team member one has to the ability perform both as an individual as well in a collective capacity with the colleagues or employees. In effect, teamwork is important and essential in order to accomplish the overall objectives and goals of an organisation.

Utsav Bhattacharjee, cofounder of Reculta, feels the primary need for being an effective team member is to be clear about team goals and individual objectives, so that individual efforts can be aligned to team efforts.

"Lack of this alignment can prove disastrous. Look at a winning Olympic rowing team and a rookie rowing team to understand the difference that alignment can have on Team output," warned Bhattacharya, who also wants a team member to not be a blind follower.

"In case you find that there is something that is unclear or merits an explanation, ask questions. Often, this exercise will allow deepening of trust between team members and better alignment within the Team,"he shared.

Giving feedback and learning to accept criticism are other important qualities of an effective team member. Easier said than done, this requires careful and prolonged practice. "The rewards are significant for all concerned if done properly. As with any difficult task, the trick is to keep at it to become better and better," notified Bhattacharya.

Being involved and resolving conflicts also play important part in effective m membership. "Every team member brings different perspectives and strengths to the team. If you do not proactively engage and contribute, it means the team is missing out on leveraging your uniqueness," he advocated.

It is a given that working in a team will almost always result in some kind of conflict. You cannot escape such situations. Bhattacharya wants one to be smart enough to understand and appreciate the dynamics within team members.

"As a general rule, respect others' opinions and beliefs as much as your own during conflict resolution. The way a team handles conflicts will often determine how well the team works as a cohesive unit," opined the young-preneur.

Piyush Kedia, founder and CEO of Blue Vector, shared that an agency set up thrives on chaos, and it does so because it is completely reliant on people and their interactions with each other.

"In this setup you cannot not be a team player," notified Kedia who enumerated the qualities that he believes make a good team player, qualities that he has observed in successful industry players as well as in his Blue Vector team –

Listen and Learn - One should be ready to absorb information from literally anybody around you irrespective of age, designation or background

Resist talking about other people - This is how "Office Politics' starts so if you're out at on a smoking break and our colleague starts talking about your impatient boss, change the subject.

Think of yourself as the "Lone Ranger who takes care of the team by the virtue of his own emotional regulation'- Sounds esoteric but keeping this in mind allows you to always be the bigger person.

Meet After-hours - As often as often meet your colleagues after office over a beer and don't let this be initiated by HR but by you.

Channelize a bad Mood into Inspiration - People are going to piss you off and when that happens channelize your anger into inspiring yourself with online research. In fact avoid working that time if you can, just don't take it out on others.

Jayesh Khandor, founder of The Brand Saloon, is of the opinion that no matter how intelligent or smart one is, it requires them to work effectively with a team to make things run smoothly. "And as you may know, business employees are often required to undertake team projects which require them to collaborate with people from within as well as from outside the organisation," shared Khandor who feels that in order to be a part of a team, it is important that you understand the importance of being an effective team member.

He shared the things he has learned from building his digital marketing agency The Brand Saloon -

Listen More- If you are working as a part of a team, chances are there will be a lot of opinions and ideas surfacing around. Listen to these even if they might not interest you! This shows that you respect other people's opinions and value their input.

Be Respectful- Respecting your team members creates trust, helps lift the team spirit and allows space for vulnerability and mistakes.

Be Flexible- Learn to adjust yourself to any given situation. Being flexible to your surroundings gives your team the idea of the things one can be trusted with.