Like you, I have had the pleasure of working with many designers and developers throughout my career. It’s fascinating to see how each of them manages their work differently, collaborates with the team, and delivers results.

There are team members—or team players (we’ll use this term for the sake of the article)—who barely get by every day and need to buy a lot of time. There are those who excel at organizing their work and managing priorities. There are also those who take ownership of projects regardless of when they joined the team. And then, we have passive players. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the majority of team players fall into this last category or have been there at some point in time.

Now that I think about it, it’s been a long time since I played a 4v4 with my friends, so I barely remember the rules of the game and the team dynamics. But generally speaking, these game modes emphasize cooperative play, where everyone works together to achieve, hopefully, the same objectives.

However, something that always bothered me—and why I prefer to play solo when possible—is that there’s always at least one player in the group who doesn’t do a f***ing thing, oh gosh, besides having a nice skin. While everyone is trying to stay alive and collect necessary items for the team’s survival, there’s always someone sticking just close enough to the team to survive but never leading or taking risks. They follow at least one team member, avoiding direct combat and swooping in for easy kills only when the enemy is already weakened. And as per the game’s rules, they take credit for the kills regardless of the effort previously made.

When I read this description, I can’t help but think about my past self. Did you think I had someone else in mind? Nope. That was me—but in a workplace setting.

Back in… well, I don’t recall the exact date, honestly, but let’s imagine it was in 2020. Back in 2020, I got hired at a Y Combinator startup for a short-term contract with the possibility of extending it to a full-time role. I cannot stress enough how huge this was for me. I had always wanted to work on a product that I might use every day. It’s common to work on products you may never use—not a bad thing, though. But this product? It was exciting. The team was nice and kind, the leaders had a clear vision, and the product was solving an actual problem—green flags everywhere.

I was determined to get the full-time job, but instead of being a key player, I became a passive player—or a doer, in other terms. I woke up every morning, checked my Asana board, and started doing exactly what they asked for, no questions asked. I was really dumb, I guess, because I honestly thought—again, I REALLY thought—it was a great strategy. After all, I was doing what they wanted. What could possibly go wrong? Then they hired someone else, and I realized I had been doing something wrong the whole time. What was it? Let me explain.

This new hire, whose name we’ll call Todd, managed to influence the roadmap in an incredible way. Todd convinced the leaders that the product was not moving in the right direction and needed further adjustments in the onboarding flow to reduce churn and increase conversion rates. Todd didn’t even set up his Asana account—he didn’t need to. After trying the product, having conversations with the team, and reviewing some analytics, he knew what his job was.

I was shocked. In less than a week, Todd managed to redesign the entire system to make it more engaging and drive more revenue. This completely changed the roadmap, and the tasks I was working on became low priority.

Initially, when I thought about roadmaps, I envisioned them as rigid documents dictated by leaders that couldn’t be changed. But Todd showed me the opposite.

As you can imagine, my strategy didn’t work for too long, and I got kicked out of the team a week later.

After that, my thoughts quickly shifted from, “Todd, you motherf…” to “Bro, teach me, please.” I knew I was doing something wrong, but back then, it wasn’t clear to me what it was. It freaked me out; I didn’t want to lose another important opportunity in my life.

It was only when I started working at another company with multiple designers that I realized what I needed to improve. How did I realize this? By working with a passive player—someone who was using my exact strategy. This guy did everything the managers asked for, regardless of whether it made sense, avoided taking on high-risk responsibilities, and stayed away from roadmap-related conversations. I really wanted to punch this guy in the face because he reminded me so much of myself—haha—and, honestly, I can be pretty punchable sometimes.

What bothered me about this passive player was that there was so much room for improvement, potential, and negotiation in any of the requests he received or in roadmap-related assignments. But he didn’t care—or perhaps he didn’t feel confident enough. I didn’t criticize him because I had been in his shoes, but… you can guess what happened to him.

Anyway, my time there was awesome. I learned what it’s like to be a key player, what it’s like to take full ownership of a project and deliver the best results possible, and what it’s like to influence the roadmap and negotiate new functionalities that could have a greater impact. I was no longer a passive player. I felt fulfilled, and my efforts were rewarded. I received a promotion, gained high recognition across the entire company, and my life has completely changed since then.

So, whether you’re just getting started or whether you’ve been in the game for years, remember this: being a passive player might keep you afloat, but it won’t get you to shore. Full satisfaction and impactful work come when one takes ownership, questions the status quo, and makes their voice heard. Do not wait for opportunities to be given; create them. Influence roadmaps, take risks, and be known for driving results that make a difference. Because at the end of the day, it isn’t about skill that distinguishes the passive player from the key player; it’s all about mindset and action.

Not sure where to start?

Begin by asking questions. Challenge the tasks you’re assigned—why are they important, and how can they bring the most value? Look for areas where the team or product could improve and suggest ideas. Take small risks, join roadmap conversations, and show curiosity. Being a key player means taking the first step to make an impact.

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