What role do you play in your team?

In the past, I was a Starbucks barista, Yelp salesperson, and a 5th-grade teacher. All roles required teamwork. In a team, I tend to be people-focused and often feel the responsibility to make sure that every teammate’s voice is heard.

The best team I worked with was a team of 12 dedicated elementary school teachers in Seoul. Upon reflection, it is quite surprising that 12 people from diverse backgrounds were able to set aside their differences and form a cohesive, joint team. I believe that it all started with a collective goal: We wanted the best for our students.

When I first joined this team 2 years ago, I was a completely new teacher from Chicago. I was unfamiliar with the school system and did not know where to begin or who to speak to. In a matter of days, however, it felt like I worked with the team for years. How did this happen?

“Who you are affects how you behave and how you interact with other people, so team members’ personalities operate like the different functions of a single organism.” -Harvard Business Review

We were skilled teachers. Some of us had more experience than others, but nonetheless, we each had our unique strengths as teachers. Our weekly Monday after-school meetings served as the primary environment for our collaboration. Because I was the newbie, I was quite relationship-focused. We also had our headteacher, who was the most organized in the group and naturally took charge of school events. At the end of the day, we were a team of varying personalities that fit together perfectly.

One of the most thrilling events we planned together was International Day. On a Tuesday evening, we decorated our classrooms for the around-the-world theme. (My room’s theme was Russia). I like developing individual relationships with each coworker, so I enjoyed stopping by other classrooms to see how each teacher was doing and how I could help. When we had disagreements, I typically tried to think of a compromise that would help our team point in a united direction. It could not have been possible without the rest of the team, though! For example, we had Ms. Allison, who was the most organized of the group and was consistently on top of things. We also had teachers like Ms. Sally and Ms. Katherine — they were reliable and generous, often volunteering to run errands to buy supplies. Mr. James was the most practical one in the group. With his level-headedness and the imaginative ideas of our most creative teachers, we were able to bring a memorable event to life together.

In conclusion, I think it is worthwhile to take some time to reflect on the role you play in your current team. What are your strengths?

*Names were changed for anonymity*