How to be a better team player: fifty strategies

Many medical practice employees have become skeptical of the phrase be a team player and with good reason. Too often the phrase means simply to keep your mouth shut and to go along with what everyone else wants. However, being a team player has real meaning and value, and it doesn't mean that you must knuckle under to pressure. This article suggests 50 strategies that will help you become a better team player in your medical practice. It explores ways for you to manage your emotions and to translate them into effective and strategic communication. It teaches you how to read the emotions of your teammates and to listen actively to what they say. Most of all, this article will help you develop a team attitude and live that attitude every day in your medical practice through your behaviors. This article is laced with more than a half-dozen action tips. It includes a description of the most pervasive, destructive, and selfish team roles that you will want to avoid. It offers a clear description of the difference between a group and a team. Finally, this article includes five fun and effective team-building exercises for you to use in your medical practice to boost morale, improve your effectiveness, and strengthen your medical practice team.