9 Habits That Make You A Great Colleague

There is one thing we wish each of you experiences: having a great colleague, or ideally multiple great colleagues around you – a great team. The work itself needs to be interesting, sure. But there are hundreds of companies doing interesting things. What makes the difference are the people.

Probably 80% of work satisfaction comes from the people around you (no scientific study behind that number, just our gut feeling, but there are studies out there – feel free to google, ask your trusted AI or disagree). No nice office, no fruit basket, no benefit or salary can make up for having great colleagues and a great team.

The good news is there's an easy way to make sure your team has great people in it: be one yourself.

The most natural and easy way to become a good colleague is observing, reflecting and when being around great people picking up their habits along the way. This blog post is about what we've picked up from each other and built into our work culture. Maybe it's something you feel like picking up too.

1. Say thank you always

Creating a positive environment is probably the single most important thing you can do as a colleague. It starts with small habits, and saying "Thank you" is one of them. It sounds simple, but it makes a real difference.

When someone does something for you, for the team, or just for the common good, say thank you always. Show that you actually see what they did and appreciate the effort. Not just for big moments, but for the small things too. Somebody fixed a bug that was blocking you? Somebody prepared a meeting well? Somebody just kept things running? Say something. Write a Slack message. Start your Jira comment with it. It takes five seconds and it has more effect than you think.

2. Give props

Saying thank you doesn't have to stay in a private conversation. Give your teammates credit publicly. If someone did great work, mention it in a meeting, tag them in a post, or tell your manager. A lot of great work goes unnoticed simply because nobody said anything out loud.

At DevBoost and Prio 0, we have a Slack channel specifically for #achievements. We use it to share a team win so others can celebrate with us. But we also have a Slack bot to give props to someone for doing something for the common good. That can be delivering an outstanding presentation, initiating a much-needed retro, or unloading the dishwasher. Whatever it is: make the effort visible.

3. Be supportive of ideas

A positive environment is also one where people feel a drive to try things out and move things forward. That drive grows when the people around them support it. When someone has an idea or wants to try something new, don’t kill it in the first sentence. Ask a question and help where you can, or just say: “Try it, I think this could work.” People with good ideas often just need someone to be curious with them, and to share their excitement if it works out. You never know what comes out of a crazy idea.

4. Don’t make mistakes weird

If you want people to be bold and creative, mistakes will happen. That's normal. People only try bold things when mistakes are not treated like scandals. Mistakes should be seen as something to learn from, not something to hide.

Just like we have an #achievements channel in our Slack, we also have a #healthyfails channel. Small and big mistakes get shared there so others can learn from them and everyone can see that nobody is perfect. Mistakes happen when innovating. Whether it's an intern or one of the CEOs, everyone shares.

5. Own your topics

You don't need a leadership title or a management position to own something and take responsibility for it. There is nothing more reassuring than knowing you can trust your colleagues. If something is your responsibility, or you care about a specific topic, own it, not just by name, but by action. If you say you'll do it, make sure it is done. And make sure it's done well enough that nobody has to worry, chase you or quietly double check in the background.

6. Reply to emails the same day

Don't leave people hanging. This goes for colleagues and customers alike. We've all been there: you send an email, weeks go by, and you end up waiting in a support queue for half an hour because nobody ever responded. It's frustrating and it's avoidable.

A short reply takes 30 seconds and makes a real difference. Reply the same day when you can. If you need more time because you have to check something or loop in a colleague, just send a short note: "Hey, got your email. I'll look into it and get back to you soon." That's it. It unblocks people, it's kind, and it builds trust. Customers in particular notice this. We've gotten countless replies thanking us just for getting back to them quickly.

7. Be curious about what others do

Show interest in what your colleagues work on, even if it's outside your usual field. Ask what someone is working on, what's keeping their mind busy, and how it's going. We believe that curiosity about things outside your own bubble can give you great ideas for your own field of work too. And curious people are simply more interesting to talk to.

As someone in sales, talking to development regularly might help you understand why a feature that sounds simple to a customer can be much harder to build than expected. And as a developer, talking to marketing might show you why explaining a feature clearly can be just as hard as building it. You start seeing the other side's challenges, and get a new perspective on your own.

And it doesn't stop at work topics. Someone training for a marathon, becoming a foster parent, brewing their own beer, or building a mechanical keyboard from scratch... there's always something to learn from, if you're curious enough to ask and listen. The best ideas sometimes come from a conversation you technically didn’t need to have.

8. Communicate what you feel and expect

Say what you expect from others. Say when something bothers you (in a kind way). Don't let small frustrations sit until they become big ones. And don't wait for your annual review to find out how you're doing. Ask for feedback actively. Ask colleagues how a collaboration felt from their side. It shows people you care how working with you feels. That alone can prevent a lot of weird tension and makes people feel more comfortable around you.

9. Bring solutions, not just problems

It's always easy to spot something that could be done better and complain about it. Especially as Germans, we're incredibly good at criticizing. But that's not really a talent, and it's usually not received well as feedback.

The real art is coming with a solution instead. Instead of just saying "Onboarding for this project sucks!" try saying something like "What if we wrote down what confused us at the start and turned it into a proper onboarding doc? ". It's the same observation, but now it's something people can actually act on.

It makes you someone people want to think through problems with, instead of someone they brace themselves for. You're someone who actually helps make things better.

Start with one, but start

That's a lot, we know. You don't have to do all nine at once. Pick the one that resonates most with you. Start doing it. Watch it spread. Then come back for the next.