The engineering field can be extremely competitive. In order for you to rise to the top, you need to stand out and make sure that your superiors know you are the best at what you do. Even when you work in a team, you can’t ignore that some people would put themselves first before anyone else. This shows when someone only focuses on the task given to him/her by the team and doesn’t really care about the others’ contribution anymore. All that matters is he/she gets the job done and gets the acknowledgement one needs to show off to your superiors.
But what you probably don’t know is looking out for your colleagues’ progress in a project can benefit you as well. Some would argue that you should just focus all your energy on becoming better and producing better output for YOUR job. However, helping out someone in your team allows not only the teammate to succeed but for you and the rest of your group to achieve your goals as well.
Just think of it as having a domino effect. When one falls, the rest of the team goes down with the failing teammate as well. If you allow your teammate to fail at the task at hand just because you want to focus on yours, the whole output of the team suffers. This is why it matters that everyone, especially in an engineering team which is output-oriented, helps each other out.
Instead of relaxing after you’re done with your work, why not offer to help those who are having a difficult time with their job? Instead of letting your teammate do something which will not help with the output of your project, advise them what you think is a better solution to the problem.
There are benefits to helping a colleague. While this takes up your time and energy, helping someone allows you to build better relationships with your teammates. Not only will it help produce a better output for your team project, it also allows you to show off your leadership skills, which your superiors will notice.
And helping someone out feels good.
