The audacity to work on a team

Hello again WSO! A couple weeks ago I posted my story of how I went from non-target to MBB, and while I tried to input this lesson in that post, I realized I did not do a very good job.

Today I will be telling you about why it is more impressive, "alpha", and respectable to be a good team member rather than a leader.

As those of you could probably tell from my last post, I am a no-nonsense, strait shooter type person. I say what I mean, when I mean it and have little to no filter in what comes out of my mouth. This made my adjustment to the team mindset more difficult than most. This was especially true when I first started. Through what seemed like a lot of work on my end, I ended up landing my dream job. I was arrogant and selfish.

The first team I was on, and I am ashamed to say, was much the same way. I hated working with these people. Our meetings would usually go as follows: one person would be sitting in the room 30 minutes before we were supposed to be there and yell at everyone else for not being there, literally every f***ing day. Anyways, we would all sit around in the shoe closet we called our office and pretend to be the smartest people in the world. Even when we agreed, the person would still disagree with them. It was all about having the right answer, not the best answer. One of my team members literally said "I want the people who work here to appreciate my work, I want to leave a legacy at this company where everyone remembers who I am". After we finished the engagement, peer evaluations came in. I was rated very low.

One of the partners called me into his office and I thought for sure that this slot on my resume was going to be shorter than my last internship. He sat me down and didn't say anything. Naturally I started to just start talking, hoping to get response. I got crickets. Eventually after what seemed like a lifetime, he simply said, "you need to learn to shut up". I sat there like a deer in headlights. He emailed me later telling me to have a summary of the engagement to him on Monday. When I handed it to him on Monday morning, I found out about my next engagement. I was on this partner's team. I don't think I have ever been as quiet as I was on this project. For three months the only words out of my mouth were "yes" and "done". At the end of this engagement, the partner sent me an email asking for me to write a summary of the engagement and hand it to him on Monday. When I went to hand the summary to him, he closed the door behind me and told me to grab a seat. I sat down and saw my first summary on the table in front of me. The partner then snatched it from my vision and began reading it out loud, circling every 20 or so seconds. He then did the same with the other one. The second write-up was clearly better. He said, "see how much you learn when you hear what others have to say?". This project was one of our most successful engagements that year, gathering praise from much of the office.

This sequence of events made me realize that the best solutions come from the best people, not the best person (not saying I am, but I certainly thought I was).

So, what does it take to be a team player?
1) Humility- This doesn't mean be an unconfident pushover, it means answering without the fear of being wrong. The biggest cowards are those who are unwilling to admit their mistakes.
2) Be nice- Once again, not a pushover. We all know the nice guy who can't pick-up any women. Say nice things to people, don't just say good work, give people feedback. As humans, we are naturally insecure and unaware of how others perceive us. Everyone appreciates honest feedback as long as your not a dick.
3) Put your ideas out there when they aren't perfect. There is not such thing as a bad idea when you are brainstorming. By the time you start to develop a solution, that idea will be eliminated. But put it out there.
4) Do what you say you will do- if your coworkers can't trust you to get your work done, they can't trust your ideas, research, or results. Never give people a reason to doubt you. As Havey Specter says, "first impressions last, if you start behind the 8-ball, you'll never get ahead".
5) Don't be the idea guy- So many people will come up to you in life when you do something successful and say "I had the same idea!". If you are this guy, stop being him and do it. If you know this guy, eliminate him from your life. There is not enough time in the world for people who "was gonna" do something.
*6*) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE- LISTEN, OBSERVE. I have never met a person who learned something from hearing themselves speak.

As always, I look forward to reading your comments and hope you are forthcoming with any questions you have.
Also, if there is anything you want me to write a post about in the future, feel free to message me or post it in the comments.

Thanks!