4 Ways to Add Value as a Resource for Your Team

By Michelle Voznyuk, Marketing Specialist at Heinz Marketing

If I’ve learned anything from working remotely over the past two and a half years, it’s that collaborating as a team always leads to the best results. While you can accomplish quite a bit individually, it’s the process of brainstorming, providing feedback, and regularly communicating with others that takes work to the next level. After all, teamwork makes the dream work, right?

Beyond achieving success, working together also makes for a better environment overall. Employees tend to thrive in a place where they feel encouraged by others. However, according to the 2021 Culture Report by AWI, “just over half of employees said they feel included, valued, supported, and connected at work”, signaling there’s still work to be done.

I think one of the keys to closing the gap is to be proactive versus reactive in how you provide assistance to others. Rather than waiting for someone to ask for help (which is hard sometimes), positioning yourself as someone who is there as a resource to them can go a long way.

Here are 4 tips you can implement to add value and be an effective resource for your team:

1. Take the Load Off (When You Can)

One of the easiest ways to help your team is to offer to take items off their plate. Of course, this is limited to your own bandwidth, but in times where things might be slow on your end, assisting someone who is overloaded can help ease the burden. Again, the key is to offer rather than wait for them to ask!

2. Be an Extension of Their Learning

In addition to taking the load off of team members, a great way to be a resource is to be an extension of their learning. Everyone has their strong and weak points. So offering your expertise in a certain area can help others learn more than they might on their own. And vice versa!

3. Provide Constructive Feedback

One of the best ways to grow as an individual is to gather insight from others. Providing constructive feedback when appropriate can help uncover potential blind spots and offer a different perspective to your team members. Just make sure to balance this out with what you also see them doing right!

4. Be an Advocate and Celebrate Their Wins

Lastly, you can support your team by being someone who values their success. Celebrating their wins both privately and publicly can not only boost confidence, but help leadership further identify when someone is on the path to promotion. This instills trust and strengthens the relationship by showing you really do care and aren’t just in it for yourself!

I hope you found these tips helpful as you finish Q3 off on a strong note. Prioritizing the mentality of “win together, lose together” can do a lot for the success of your team and impact on the organization as a whole. If you have any other thoughts, feel free to drop them in the comments below – we’d love to hear from you!