E-Magazine: Do’s and Don’ts of Uncooperative Teammates

Do’s and Don’ts of Uncooperative Teammates

 Everyone has experienced them, in some way, shape, or form: uncooperative teammates. They can be annoying or disruptive, seemingly never accomplish their tasks, and overall are just difficult to work with. Whether a memory has already come to your head or you are fortunate enough not to have worked with anyone like this, Inevitably, when working on any team, you will encounter someone of this nature. It is best to be prepared and know how to appropriately handle the situation so that your team can remain productive, rather than crash and burn.

Do’s:

Do: Establish channels of communication. Try to avoid accusing them, and instead, be friendly towards them. This can help to motivate them into doing their work, as they may feel more welcome on the team. Ask them what they have been working on, and what they would be interested in. This provides them with a direction to go in, making them more likely to become cooperative in the long run.

Do: Avoid excluding them. Oftentimes, uncooperative members feel shunned by the rest of the team, or feel ostracized in some way, which further prompts behavior that disrupts the team dynamic. To avoid this, you should try to invite them in as much as possible. Make sure they are involved on projects and that they feel like their role is important, and hold them accountable to their work. Even outside of the professional realm, try to know them personally. Ask questions about their life and go out to get food or coffee with them sometime. Developing those bonds is crucial to helping everyone feel as if they are a valuable member of the team.

Do: Look for ways to make use of the uncooperative member’s skillset. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, nothing seems to work with a teammate, and they simply can’t get along with others on the team. In these scenarios, you should look for a way to make the most of the situation by identifying the skills that the uncooperative member does have and playing to those strengths. Everyone possesses a unique skill set that differentiates them from others, and delegating them tasks that utilize their skill set will enable you to get the most out of their productivity.

Don’ts:

Don’t: Make assumptions. One of the biggest forces that drives teams apart is when other people make assumptions about a certain person’s behavior without speaking to them about it. While a certain team member may be behind on their tasks due to a lack of developed teamwork skills, there may also be a more reasonable explanation, such as a personal issue that is occupying their time. Try to talk it out with that person, as making an assumption about their behavior, especially if that assumption is incorrect, can lead to the team member feeling offended and excluded from the rest of the team. This can undermine a team’s cohesion and make it difficult to work efficiently in the future.

Don’t: Assume everyone knows their role. Especially for new members, there may be a degree of unfamiliarity within the team, and some members may not be working simply because they do not know their role. Instead, try to continuously clarify everyone’s roles and set milestones for each team member to hit, so that they have reasonable benchmarks they have to work towards achieving. By assuming they know their role, some team members may be left in the dust, inhibiting productivity of your team. 

Don’t: Criticize them. No matter how much another teammate aggravates you, avoid criticizing them or badmouthing them, as that only exacerbates divides within your team. Criticizing their behavior can lead to the other teammate only associated negative thoughts with you or even other team members, which makes it difficult to work well together. In addition, this can often make them feel like they are inferior to others on the team, causing them to feel left out or out of place, both of which can be detrimental to team productivity. Instead, try to promote more interaction between team members, and couple your constructive criticism with compliments so that others can learn from your feedback and implement it, but not resent you for it.

All in all, you are likely to come across an uncooperative teammate at some point in your lifetime, and being armed with strategies to help mitigate their difficult nature while making the most of their skillset will enable your team to function smoothly. Because this scenario is so prevalent, everyone should know these quick do’s and don'ts to ensure that when they inevitably face this situation, they know the most effective way to handle it.

-Sahil Sood