Tempo logotype

6 Tips to Become a Highly Valued Member of Your Team

From Team '23

Tempo Team

Working on a team presents a unique set of challenges — something that just happens when you put more than one person in a room and ask them to achieve a goal together. The challenges are as old as primitive man and include head bangers like: people don’t always pull their weight, roles and assignments are fuzzy and team members have different views and work styles.

This doesn’t mean we have to accept these hardships and battle our way to the end. With a little self-examination and some good behavior habits, you can become a highly valued member of your team – and increase the value you have on your group and the project.

Here are six tips to play effectively with your team:

Be Reliable

Nobody likes working with a team member who says he’ll do something and then has no follow through (but an endless list of excuses). If you’re that person, then put some thought into your claims before committing them on paper or to a group. Map out a plan that, when you look at it, makes you feel confident about delivering it. Include a backup plan and a check-in point so if you’re not on track you can let your team know. If you’re not sure how to come up with a trustworthy plan-of-action, sit down with a boss or co-worker who can help you out. It’s not about being perfect—change happens around the clock at work, we all know that.

Of course, being reliable is also about staying focused and working towards a goal. Keep your eyes on the end result, follow through, deliver what you say you will and more people will see you as trustworthy.

Keep your project manager informed about your progress

Even with the most collaborative planning tools, you probably have a lead project manager who oversees the delivery of a project (even if her title isn’t “Project Manager”). This person initiates tasks and assigns work to all other team members. In some groups, this person could be your boss or a team leader, and is generally the one who takes the fall if things go south. When you show respect for your project lead’s responsibilities – by meeting deadlines, communicating changes and being reliable – you make an important person’s life easier and raise your value quotient.

Be flexible and willing to change

Projects hardly ever go as planned, so there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself doing “surprise” work in order to move a project forward. It could be helping a team mate with some tasks, taking over part of a ballooning project – you name it. If you can roll with these change requests with a positive attitude and pitch in where needed, this will earn you those key points as “team player.”

Also, if you’re a good problem solver and naturally willing to do whatever (within reason) the team needs of you, it could be that flexibility is one of your greatest strengths. Every team needs a flexible player, so play to it!

Share information and resources with your team

Some people think they increase their career worth if they’re the one with all the information. It depends how you play this. Hoarding resources and then trotting out your smarts at opportune moments will not get you far. (Nobody likes a know-it-all.) Instead, make yourself a necessary part of the team by sharing all your information, knowledge and resources freely. Take a page from people-centric business expert Tim Sanders’ book Love is the Killer App: Be a lovecat – a rich, open source of knowledge.

Respect of other people’s work styles

We all know this one: Everyone is different and we all have our own work styles. Just because a team member approaches a task or challenge at a different angle than you would doesn’t mean it’s wrong. So if you don’t understand what a team mate is doing or saying, ask questions until you find a common ground. Clearing up the differences in your processes will help you work together more fluidly going forward, and who knows – you might even learn a thing or two!

Be positive

You can’t do everything perfectly, which means you’re going to get constructive feedback every once in a while. This is also how we learn and build our career skills. So when you do get constructive feedback, try to take it with a positive attitude. Keep in mind that not everyone’s great at their feedback delivery so don’t take it personally if it comes out blunt and insensitive. Instead, just focus on the part that you can learn from. If a boss sets out a plan of action and you can rise to the occasion and meet it – well, how many ways can you say “raise” and “promotion”?

At the end of the day, however, we all know what matters even more than raises and promotions: the feeling of doing meaningful work in a team that fosters your talents and being appreciated and valued for the good work you do. Focus on how you can do your part in the equation and see the world rise up to meet you.

Explore More Content

Unified time and team management

Integration: Timesheets and Structure

Combining Tempo Timesheets and Structure PPM provides a unified view of time tracking and project progress, enabling more accurate reporting and effective portfolio management. Simplify workflows, enhance collaboration, and ensure projects stay on time and within budget.

Learn more

Jira Time Tracking

Timesheets by Tempo

#1 Jira Time Tracking & AI Apps: Log Tempo Timesheets for Planning, Project Management & Billing. Plugin Office365, Google & Slack

Go to marketplace

For planning leaders looking to add a big-picture roadmap view to their structured Jira data, this integration is essential. Improve visibility to leadership, reduce reporting admin, and keep your team aligned.

Learn more

Powered by Structure’s custom hierarchies, visualize your roadmap, project plans, timeline & dependencies within Jira Gantt charts

Go to marketplace

Unified time and team management

Integration: Timesheets and Capacity Planner

Seamlessly manage project timelines and resources while accurately tracking time spent on tasks. This integration enhances visibility, improves planning accuracy, and supports data-driven decision-making for better overall project outcomes.

Learn more

AI-enabled capacity visualization

Capacity Insights - Open Beta

Deliver visibility into how your team's time and efforts align with business objectives and project ROI - without the manual effort

Learn more

No more reporting limitations

Custom Charts for Confluence

Create and share all kinds of highly visual and customizable charts directly on your Confluence pages.

Learn more

Jira Portfolio Management PPM

Structure by Tempo

Jira Project Portfolio Management (PPM): Visualize data and manage projects within spreadsheet-like tables — in less than a minute

Go to marketplace

No-code Tableau Jira integration

Tableau Connector for Jira

Effortlessly bridge Jira with Tableau, unlocking unparalleled insights and enhancing decision-making

Learn more

Jira Team & Resource Management

Capacity Planner

#1 Jira Resource Management App: Optimize team allocation, skillset utilization, capacity planning & project management

Go to marketplace

Strategic Portfolio Management

Strategic Portfolio Management

Modern modular PPM solutions that scale with your business. Align your teams with the integrated platform that bridges the gap between strategy and execution.

Learn more

Jira ITSM Solutions with Tempo

ITSM

Build and scale a custom ITSM solution at your own pace with Tempo's modular suite of integrated tools. Enhance Jira's capabilities and take control of your entire IT portfolio.

Learn more

Project and program management for Jira

Structure PPM

Visualize all your Jira data & manage portfolios of projects in real-time.

Learn more

Take control of your projects

Integration: Portfolio Manager and Jira

Portfolio Manager integrates seamlessly with Jira to give you predictive scheduling, real-time scenario modeling, and advanced resource management – ensuring you stay on track, no matter what challenges arise.

Learn more

Align your organization with proactive portfolio management

Portfolio Manager (LiquidPlanner)

Predictive scheduling and the ability to forecast project timelines and spot risks so you can meet deadlines with confidence.

Learn more

Roadmapping software for teams of all sizes

Strategic Roadmaps (Roadmunk)

The roadmapping tool designed for high-performing teams delivering boardroom-ready strategic roadmaps.

Learn more

No-code BigQuery Jira integration

BigQuery Connector for Jira

Integrate Jira with Google BigQuery to seamlessly export and sync data for advanced analytics and customized reporting

Learn more

Centralize real-time plans in one view

Integration: Structure and Gantt Charts

Gain a more complete project management solution, simplifying project reporting, improving collaboration, and ensuring projects stay on time and within budget.

Learn more

Time Tracking Software for Jira

Timesheets

Tempo’s intuitive automation and Jira-native design make it the most trusted time tracking tool for enterprise organization.

Learn more

Agile at Scale Software

Agile at Scale

Adapt to changing business needs, rapidly adjust plans, and reallocate investment.

Learn more

Custom charts and dashboards for Jira

Custom Charts for Jira

See how work is progressing and where blockers are with the most flexible reporting app in Jira.

Learn more

Never lose track of a brilliant idea again

Idea Manager for Strategic Roadmaps

Never lose a brilliant idea again. Idea Manager for Strategic Roadmaps has built-in best practices to help.

Learn more

Get the data you need to succeed

Time Tracker

Extend your Jira with prebuilt and highly configurable reports for straightforward time tracking.

Learn more

Industry-leading project plan and roadmap visualizations with a Gantt chart extension

Gantt Charts for Structure PPM

Visualize project plans and roadmaps with a Gantt chart extension for Jira

Learn more

Jira Project Cost Tracking

Financial Manager

Project financial management for Jira & Timesheets. Monitor project costs, expenses, revenue, billing & budgets. Track Capex/Opex

Go to marketplace

Real-time collaboration and capacity planning in Jira

Capacity Planner

A powerful team resource management tool designed to optimize capacity planning and project management in Jira

Learn more
Colleagues interacting around a desk

No-Code Power BI Jira Integration

Power BI Connector for Jira

Effortlessly bridge Jira with your preferred BI tool, unlocking unparalleled insights and enhancing decision-making

Learn more

Monitor financial health at every level

Financial Manager for Timesheets

Monitor projects and portfolios to get simple, clear, and real-time views of your costs, budgets, and profits that can be shared throughout your entire organization.

Learn more