Tough Teammates

Having a team full of supportive friends, family or coworkers is one of the best ways to be successful in this challenge, but sometimes it's just not possible to have a team full of your best friends, and that can present challenges.

Here are some tips for handling tough team situations: 

Situation 1: I don't have a full team!

Don't worry! You can use the invitation tool found on your dashboard to invite friends, family or coworkers to join the challenge! (You are more likely to succeed if your team consists of people who are part of your close social or family circle.)  If that's not an option, never fear - set your team to "anyone can join" so others just joining the challenge know you are looking for teammates.  You can also look for teammates in the Support Room on your dashboard!  If all else fails, two weeks into the start of the challenge, HealthyWage starts pairing incomplete teams to make sure everyone who wants to play has a full team.  We don't leave anyone behind.

Situation 2: Strangers on my team!

Introduce yourself and be genuinely interested in helping your new teammates achieve their goals, so together you can work toward winning. Chances are, they're uncomfortable with not knowing anyone on the team too, so the sooner you can introduce yourself, the sooner you can get to the business at hand. If a stranger on your team turns unresponsive, read on for more tips and make sure to continue to stay focused on your own personal goals!

Situation 3: My teammate is non-responsive!

There are two ways you can work with this type of teammate:

- Try asking your teammate how she/he is doing. Maybe your teammate is struggling and feels like she/he is bringing the team down, or maybe your teammate is having a technology issue of some kind. Give people the benefit of the doubt and if possible, reach out offline and see if you can connect.

- Change your approach. Some people do not respond well to being told what to do.  If you've tried several times to get a hold of a teammate, and he/she isn't responding or doing what you ask, then you need to change tactics.  Often, the most stubborn teammates hate being told what to do, but they jump into action when they see their teammates making progress.  We'll tell your teammates when you hit milestones and earn ribbons. If your team is meant to win big prizes, there's no better way to bring out the best than achieving as much as you can yourself.  Worst case scenario:  your team never comes together, but you achieve champion status on your own in the challenge and feel fantastic with a healthier body.

- First and foremost: it's most important that you see your personal goals as the primary goal, and winning the challenge and the big cash prizes as the secondary goal.  Using all of the challenge tools (e.g., the Support Room, ribbons, etc.) is a fun way to achieve even without team success.

Situation 4: My teammate just left!

We'd like to think there are no surprise desertions, but the truth is that it happens from time to time. Never fear, you still have all of the same options open to you as in Situation #1 -- you will not be left with an incomplete team for long!