Financial Statements

5 Habits of Great Coworkers

This is an image of a young white professional wearing and orange shirt and talking to her african american coworkers. She is pointing to text on a piece of paper and they are discussing it in the office. There is a light green overlay on the image with white text that says 5 Habits of Great Workers.

It’s not always easy to fit in or find “a groove” in the workplace among coworkers. There are many reasons why colleagues don’t always mesh well; one of those reasons being what leaders at the top do to help integrate an excellent work culture. However, there are some things you can do to create a healthy and great work atmosphere among colleagues.

Let go of judgments and egos:

Be true to yourself and those you work with. When coworkers and bosses are true to themselves, they not only trust the judgments and decisions they make, but others around them will trust them as well. You gain respect by trusting, and it creates likability among teams and coworkers.

Use your strengths:

You know what your innate talents are. Use those talents or strengths to create a healthy work environment. If you’re a natural questioner, seek ways to do more research in your work. If you’re great at making people feel comfortable, use that to find ways to work with people or consider a move into client relations. When you lean into your strengths, you’ll naturally start on a trajectory that builds healthy and friendly relationships among colleagues.

Don’t hog the limelight:

Find ways to share your thanks or to lift someone else up. Send out a team email thanking everyone who helped you achieve a goal at work, give a toast at a celebratory dinner acknowledging the people who helped you reach a milestone, tell a story at your next meeting about the ways your colleagues contributed to a recent achievement. It takes presence, courage, and trust to share the stage with other people–all traits that will help draw quality people and opportunities to you.

Be coachable:

While you want to lean into your strengths, you also must recognize your weaknesses, and be open to learning and growing. Thinking or acting like a know-it-all will not win you points among colleagues. There’s no shame in asking for help or realizing you still have things to learn. So, when someone you trust points out a habit or a pattern that appears to be holding you back, be receptive to what he/she has to say and be open to trying a different approach. In other words, be coachable. Your colleagues are people you trust (remember you gain respect by trusting). Resisting objective feedback is a sure way to stay stuck, stagnant and struggle with working relationships

Give a colleague a chance:

Not all colleagues are easy to work with, no matter what you do. But before running to your supervisor, try having a conversation with your colleague about what you are struggling with within your working relationship with them. Find ways to offer compliments so that it doesn’t appear as though you are just pulling at the negative thread. Be honest, but fair and kind. Give them a chance. If things don’t improve, make notes of your attempts before meeting with the boss.

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