How to Raise a Team Player – While being able to work independently is a great skill, children must learn to work with others. There’s a lot that they can learn from doing so, but it relies on good team working skills. They must be able to listen to others’ ideas, demonstrate patience, self-awareness and communicate themselves well. In this post we share guidance from an independent school in London.
Self-Awareness
Being a good team player involves more than just working with others, it also means thinking about those around you and maintaining healthy relationships. Your child will need to be aware of how they come across and the impact of their actions, so you will need to get them in the habit of forward thinking. Emotional intelligence is also important as they will need to have consideration for their team members in order to work well and support one another.
Communication Skills
Communication is a big part of working in a team. Children must be able to communicate effectively and learn to listen to one another, otherwise it’s likely that their efforts will be disorganised. To develop these fundamental skills, actively have conversations with your child where they get to practise their communication skills and learn to be a better listener.
Build Their Confidence
This point stems from the last as without confidence, communication can be particularly difficult. Your child will need to speak up for themselves to get their ideas across and have the confidence to pitch them.
Find Team Sports
Team sports are an excellent way to work on these skills as they give children real life opportunities and the chance to learn about team dynamics. It is important however to listen to children and not force them into anything, so have a discussion and see if it’s something that they’d want to do.
*Collaborative post