Teamwork skills: 12 examples at work and how to show them
Each skill with a plain definition, two things it looks like at work and a way to practice. Plus resume and interview lines and a printable self-check.
Teamwork skills are the everyday habits that make you easy to work with and help a group hit a shared goal. NACE, the US association of college career offices and employers, defines teamwork this way: “Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities” (source). Employers ask for it constantly: in NACE’s Job Outlook 2025 survey, nearly four in five employers said they look for strong teamwork skills on college students’ resumes (source).
12 teamwork skills, with examples of teamwork in the workplace
Each skill has a one-line definition, two things it looks like on a normal workday and one way to get better at it.
1. Communication
Telling people what they need to know, clearly and on time, in the place they will actually read it.
- Posts a three-line update before the Monday meeting, so the meeting can skip the status round.
- Rewrites an engineering incident note in plain words before it goes to the sales team.
Practice it: Play a hosted Family Feud-style game: small teams race to agree on survey answers, so everyone has to speak up fast.
2. Listening
Taking in what a teammate means, not only the words, before you decide how to respond.
- Asks a stressed colleague what would help most before offering a fix.
- Hears in a client call that the real worry is the timeline, not the price, and says so in the debrief.
Practice it: Try an improv session: every line has to build on the one before it, so you cannot plan ahead.
3. Reliability
Keeping your commitments, so teammates can count on your part without checking up on it.
- Sends the slides on Thursday as promised, which lets the designer start on Friday.
- Covers the support inbox on their agreed day, even in a busy week.
Practice it: For two weeks, write down every promise you make in meetings and check them off each Friday.
4. Accountability
Owning your share of the team's result, including the parts that went wrong.
- Tells the client directly that the invoice error came from their team, then fixes it the same day.
- Watches the team's shared target, not only their own numbers, and raises it when it slips.
Practice it: After the next project, run a 20-minute review with three questions: what happened, why, and what changes.
5. Problem solving
Breaking a messy problem into pieces a team can check, share out and solve together.
- Splits a drop in signups into three possible causes and gives one to each teammate to check.
- Suggests a quick test with five customers instead of another week of debate.
Practice it: Book a hosted escape room: small teams solve puzzles and mini-games together, so they have to split the clues and pool what they find.
6. Conflict resolution
Getting from a clash of views to an agreed next step, with both people still willing to work together.
- Gets two teammates who want different launch dates to list what each date protects, then helps them pick one.
- Moves a heated chat thread to a 15-minute call before it spreads.
Practice it: Run one of our conflict resolution activities in a team meeting, before a real conflict needs it.
7. Adaptability
Changing plans, roles or tools without losing pace when the situation changes.
- Takes over a new hire's first week when the colleague running it is out sick.
- Learns the new project tool in a week and shows two teammates the shortcuts.
Practice it: Swap one recurring task with a teammate for a month, after each of you writes a short how-to.
8. Empathy
Seeing how a situation looks and feels to a teammate, and letting that shape what you do.
- Moves a weekly call so it no longer lands in the evening for the teammate in another time zone.
- Checks in privately after a colleague's presentation goes badly.
Practice it: In your next one-to-one, ask what the hardest part of their week was, and just listen.
9. Respect for differences
Valuing teammates whose backgrounds, styles and views differ from yours, and making room for them.
- Shares the agenda a day early so colleagues who like to think before speaking can prepare.
- Learns to say every teammate's name correctly, and asks when unsure.
Practice it: Pick two ideas from our inclusive workplace guide and try them at your next team meeting.
10. Time management
Planning your own work around what other people are waiting for from you.
- Asks which of three requests matters most to the team before starting any of them.
- Blocks Wednesday afternoon for the review a colleague needs by Thursday.
Practice it: Play a hosted scavenger hunt: small teams work through several challenges in breakout rooms, so they learn to split up the tasks.
11. Leading from any seat
Stepping up to organize, decide or unblock when the team needs it, with or without a title.
- Notices nobody keeps a calendar of the team's releases and starts one.
- Runs the kickoff with a new client when the account lead is away.
Practice it: Rotate who runs the weekly team meeting, using a shared team meeting agenda.
12. Supporting others
Helping teammates grow and succeed by sharing what you know and backing their work.
- Spends an hour with a new analyst showing how the monthly reports are built.
- Names a teammate's contribution in the team channel the day the project ships.
Practice it: Start a monthly 20-minute teach-in where one person shows the team a skill or a tool.
Looking at the person rather than the skill? See the traits of a good team player. Working across departments? Our guide to collaboration skills covers that side, and high-performing teams covers what a whole team needs.
How to show teamwork skills on a resume
Skip the word teamwork in your skills list. Show it in your experience bullets: who you worked with, what you did for the team, and the result. Swap the brackets for your own details.
Teamwork skills in an interview
Interviewers test teamwork with questions like these. Answer with one real story: the situation, your part, what you did and how it ended.
- Tell me about a time you worked on a team to reach a goal.
- Describe a disagreement with a coworker and how you handled it.
- Tell me about a time you had to rely on others to finish your work.
- What role do you usually play on a team?
Answer lines to fill in
Teamwork skills self-check
One statement per skill. Answer each with rarely, sometimes, often, almost always, then practice your lowest one for a month.
- My teammates rarely have to chase me for an update.
- I can sum up a teammate's point in my own words before I reply.
- When I promise a date, I hit it or warn people early.
- I say so when a miss was mine, without being asked.
- When we are stuck, I help break the problem into smaller parts.
- I can disagree with a teammate and still work well with them the next day.
- When plans change, I adjust my part quickly and without complaint.
- I notice when a teammate is having a hard week and adjust how I work with them.
- I make room for people who work or think differently from me.
- I know who is waiting on my work this week, and when they need it.
- I step in to organize things when nobody else does.
- I share what I know so teammates do not have to work it out alone.
Build teamwork skills as a team
Skills grow fastest when a team practices them together under a little friendly pressure. These hosted formats each work one skill hard.
- Problem solving: a virtual escape room has small teams solve puzzles and mini-games together, so they have to split the work and pool answers.
- Speaking up fast: a Family Feud-style game has small teams racing to agree on survey answers, all playing at once.
- Dividing the work: a virtual scavenger hunt sends small teams into breakout rooms to complete challenges with items they have nearby.
- Listening: an improv session builds the “Yes, And” habit of building on what someone just said.
- Each is a live, hosted hour on Zoom by default (Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request). Book about 2 weeks ahead; December dates fill first. Teams split across time zones can run it as two sessions, and a hybrid team can play one virtual event together.
Four hosted games, with today’s price.
For managers, Supercharge Your Squad is a workshop on moving from doing it all yourself to a team that has your back. Free ideas are in our team building exercises. When you are ready, send your date and headcount and get a free quote. We reply within 24 hours.
