Types of Teammates you will Encounter as an Artist

As an artist, and in other roles too, there are different types of people that you will encounter. They may prove to be anywhere from extremely favorable to extremely unfavorable to you. Here are only a few (more might be added in the future). Not necessarily in descending order from best to worst, but grouped by how recommendable they are or not to be invested in. And under this category, as teammates.

Recommendable
• The Unifier
They can and will mediate. Outstanding communicators and even diplomats. Able to smooth things out but also address tensions, obvious or not, that may be impairing relationships. They are acutely aware of the importance of having a sense of belonging and connectedness, but also of the individual needs for space as nothing forced is lasting.

• The Challenger
They may accept where you are currently, applaud it even, but they won’t overlook your potential for more. Not fond of stagnation, they may encourage you to take on tasks and goals that push you to grow further. Could engage you in friendly taunts for it if not just point to the areas you have yet to expand onto.

• The Tutor
They’ll pay close attention to your progress, as if you’re one of the few personal projects they are deeply invested into. They genuinely wish to see you do and be well, excel even, and would celebrate your triumphs as they take part in making them happen. Whether they’re three or more steps ahead of you, they’d gladly help you catch up until you can continue on your own or they have nothing else to show you.

• The Reliable
They are there for what you need. Not necessarily for what you want, as catering to your whims is not their job, but if you do genuinely require assistance with something, chances are that, if it is within their abilities, they’ll give you a hand with it. And you can count on a satisfying delivery.

Tolerable/Manageable
• The Restless
They cannot be still for long. And while that can be contagious for the better, mobilizing others, there will be times when it is counterproductive. Potentially turning into a nuisance. Pacing and pausing at times is not a luxury but a necessity. And that’s something they don’t seem to grasp or put into practice.

• The Climber
They want to go up. It is certainly fine to strive to improve and reach higher levels, whether that means you surpass others or not. But watch out for the people who do it primarily to be “above others” and would even use and discard others as stepping stones. This fixation can turn destructive fast.

Not Recommendable
• The Finger-pointer
They always have something to complain about. But not in themselves (at least not as often or to the same degree), in others. They’ll pick flaws and shortcomings whether or not it will be conducive to any betterment. They would do it out of habit or worse. In attempts to distract from their own by making another seem worse. The hypocrisy can and does become evident, but fighting it at every turn isn’t worth it.

• The Dimmer
They bring the morale and the overall enthusiasm down. It’s not about redirecting toward a more suitable path. It is about keeping others in low spirits. It may be intentional or not, but the result is the same. Performance drops as people become doubtful and/or indifferent about what they’re doing. Uncalled for remarks abound that are more a poison than a remedy.

• The Infiltrated
They aren’t part of the team, but you don’t know that. Physically, they’re there. Mentally, maybe so as well. But not in heart and spirit. They may do the bare minimum to pass as one or even go above and beyond so they aren’t suspected. However, ultimately, they are bound to leave or even betray once they get what they were after - which wasn’t agreed upon.

• The Divider
They sow discordance between others. Gossiping, comparing, triangulating, and just generally inciting conflict, suspicion, and anything that would erode the team’s cohesion for no valid reason. They could truly have personal issues that cause them to behave this way, unable to be a part of something else. Or they could be doing it on purpose for the sake of breaking things up. Whatever the case, they are a disease.

Alternatively, as a teammate, do you see yourself among the Not Recommendable or the Tolerable/Manageable and don’t like it? Start/keep working on your improvement.