# Verbs Follwed by a Gerund

# Practice

Exprience observe ask moan provide offend be talk take

• If you want to become an effective team member, spend time observing your worst-performing teammates and do the opposite.

1. The worst coworkers can’t help complainingabout their work and other team members.  They should quit moaning and remember experiencing problems is a part of life.  It’s no use being negative.  Instead you should consider providing constructive ideas and feedback.

2. Bad teammates waste time gossiping . Management books advise taking an interest in others.  However, you should avoid asking questions or making comments that are too personal.  If you don’t you risk offending your workmates.  They may avoid talking to you completely.

duplicate       share       knowledge - share         ask         have          us make

3. Bad teammates avoid sharing knowledge. If you avoid sharing useful information with colleagues the team will end up duplicating work.  The best team members practice knowledge sharing.

4. Bad team members talk almost completely about themselves. You should resist using words such as “I” and “me”.  To build better team relationships experts suggest asking lots of questions, knowing when to listen and using words such as “we” and “us.”

5. Bad team members deny making mistakes and blame others.  You should admit making any mistakes but work hard to put them right.  If not, your colleagues will resent having to fix

help     admit   work         teach       get to know

6. Bad team members enjoy excluding other people. If you resist admiting other members to the team you limit the team’s perspective and options.

7. Bad team members have difficulty relating to others.  I recommend getting to know your colleagues.  If you get on well together they won’t mind helping you when you need it.

8. We all dislike working with bad team members but they may end up teaching us a lesson!