How to be a Good Teammate – Urszula Klimczak’s Top Tips

Bryony-Hope

8 min read | 15 Apr 2021

Urszula ‘Xirreth’ Klimczak is an esports behaviour analyst and performance coach from Poland, and has been involved in esports for several years. She works to improve the performance of teams and individuals in the esports scene, even helping the likes of Fnatic. As well as this, Urszula is the owner of the company MindFlex Coaching.

Having first-hand experience within this area of esports has given Urszula a significant amount of insight into what makes a good player. Here are her top tips on how to be a good teammate!


#1 – Know your role
Dos: Mastering a role you are in is critical in achieving a team goal. Remember, a team is as bad as its worst player. Thus, if you want to be successful, always work on improving yourself and innovating. Having a wide champion pool or being unpredictable in terms of a game play is something that can only get you close to mastering your role and being the best.

Don’ts: Try not to be the smartest person in the room and do not interfere with what other players should play. Don’t take the whole floor during discussions and allow others to speak too. All in all they are the owners of their roles and they know how to master them. Trust them they will put as much effort in their job as you do only if you allow them. If you are having doubts remember that your coach and manager are there to help you out too.


#2 – Hold yourself accountable
Dos: Always focus on your strengths and make sure your teammates know them. Once you commit, e.g. being a caller, make sure you are looking to improve yourself by asking for feedback and applying it. Be reliable and always do what you tell others you are going to do. Listen carefully and make sure you explain your plan in a precise and direct way. If you are all on the same page and your team trusts you, it means that the job is done well!   

Don’ts: Working on improving weaknesses is never a good idea. You should rather minimize their impact on your performance and replace them with something you feel comfortable about. Remember that if you are good at math and  bad at history you will never be as good at it as you will be at math, because math is fun for you. The same happens in game. Fun wins it all. 

#3 – Trust your teammates
Dos: Always be honest to yourself, but also to your peers. If you feel in the team there are things you do not feel ok with or some strategies or game plans do not fit you well speak about them and make sure you all find solutions to those issues. Remember that feedback is aiming for your own improvement. Thus make sure you think about it and apply from it as much as you can once you receive it.

Don’ts: Hiding things or talking behind others back will not help the team issues. It will only escalate them. If you encounter trust issues, first look into yourself and how you handle feedback. If you take it personally and are very emotional about it maybe you should work harder on your self-awareness and self-confidence. You can do that only with the help of your teammates and coaches. 

#4 – Commit to the goals
Dos: Follow your team goals if you want to succeed as collaboration and teamwork wins it all. You can win a team game only if you look in the same direction as your team mates. The best is when you all have your eyes on the prize!  

Don’ts: Being in the team only to receive your salary is a waste of your time, but also of others time. If you have hidden goals and are trying to promote yourself by climbing your colleagues’ back, you will get nowhere in your career. Moreover, you may be perceived in a future as a toxic and lazy player and yes, that can be the end of your career. 

 #5 – Embrace your work environment
Dos: Make sure you are hyped about what you are doing. All in all it is you that has decided to pick the career of an esport athlete and nobody should force you to respect the organization, staff and your team members. Make sure you are always on time and with a positive mindset. When you are happy and proud of what you are doing the results come along with it.  

Don’ts: An organization can create a team only by gathering people that are looking at the same direction and are striving to achieve the best possible results. If you are staying up late, come to practice tired or in a bad mood and also angry that you have to work – you will never achieve success. Be serious about your work and your teammates and they will be always appreciating you being with them.  

#6 – Avoid politics
Dos: Be always open about what you feel and what you want to bring to the table – if it is about strategy, feelings or simply you have a great idea that can result in better gameplay. Every team member should contribute to the team discussion to be a co-owner of the team’s success.  

Don’ts: Never hide your feelings and never allow others to speak for you. We are all different and we all have different ideas of how to succeed in the team. If you do not speak about it openly it means you do not care and you do not feel comfortable in this team environment. The question is why? 

#7 – Celebrate success
Dos: The joy of working together and having fun is the main key to achieving long term peak performance. If you are proud of your hard work as a team you should be looking forward to celebrating together the results you have achieved.

Don’ts: The worst thing you can do is to refuse to celebrate with the team the outcome of your collaboration. By that you are showing your colleagues that you do not care and that this team environment is not important to you.  

You can check out Urszula’s work on her twitter @Xirreth, or on MindFlex Coaching.