It’s not news that natural sole players often have fears with teamwork. From having to speak in meetings to the dissemination of tasks and other limitations they see from this skill which poses a threat to their career. 

While working alone gives room for self-awareness, creativity, focus, and self-discipline, rarely have we seen that individualistic success creates a massive impact. Rarely have we seen an organization promote the need for sole playing no matter how individualistic a work gets; there is a need for diverse departments, diverse perspectives and interpersonal communication to achieve success. 

A necessary skill for the 21st-century work culture is teamwork and what if i tell you all you need is an enabling condition? Yes!   Read these six mind-blowing solutions to help you not only strive to be a team player but to effectively thrive:

1. A Positive Mindset: One of the beautiful things about our minds is that when we set it to something, we see that we are powerful enough to get it done. This is not to sideline the natural aspect of a sole player but this is to say that it is important to have a positive mindset to teamwork as this will propel the motivation you need for comfortability and career advancement. One good thing you can do is erase the mindset of me versus them. Work with the mindset of ‘us’.
2. Embrace Diversity:  In teamwork, there are different people from different places and probably from different teams. As a manager or young professional understanding, the level and dynamics of diversity is key. It helps you anticipate how best to communicate with each other, perceive conflict and resolution strategies to promote healthy relationships among you and your team members.
3. Set out time solitude: In teamwork, there are tasks assigned to team members; this can serve as a  time to ooze out your strength. Your personally assigned task helps you refresh, gain strength, set personal goals, stay motivated and effectively participate with other members of the team.
4. Ensure you are in a structure that motivates you:  Positive team members will promote you to be at your best. This could come through sincere compliments, motivational talks, helps recognition or a promotion for a job well done. All of these are sides to helping you stay motivated to a team. This will enable you to express your vulnerabilities to a senior colleague, friends, teammates or association who can be of help to you.
5. Stay Confident: Many times, fear creeps in our hearts because we are inexperienced about a role, in a position we deem too high for us or in a situation where we feel like there is a high tendency to fail. On the other hand, we forget the advantageous side to being confident with our skill, voice, mind and other gifts in us. Being confident stems from practice, facing your fears and reminding yourself of the benefits that come with collaboration. Imagine you have just been assigned the role of presenting to the board members as opposed to your previous task in the team, the natural driver to your emotions would be fear. But when you shift your mind to the benefits that this role births such as: having the opportunity to grow in confidence, the ability to be creative and the luxury of open critics for improvements, it pumps in you some level of confidence for the task.
6. It’s not that deep: Yes! you read right. It’s not as deep as your imaginations, worries and the list of  ‘what ifs’ in your mind. At the end of it all, the team gets to see the beautiful ideas and skills that you possess on your inside. Not just that, you might discover an interest you might never have seen if you never exercised effective team playing.