What it means to be a team player

I've worked in a lot of different environments in my time. I started off working in sports bars, then moved on to work a couple other service industry jobs before I joined the military. Not a single one of those jobs did I ever work alone. I was always part of a team.

So what does it mean to be a "team player"?

To me, it means more than just showing up and working well with your coworkers. My time as a host really solidified my identity as a team player. The job of a host might seem trivial at first glance, all they do is seat people, right? But really, the hosts control the whole flow of a restaurant.

My favorite part of the job was learning my waitstaff. Lauren tells me she really needs to make enough in tips to pay her rent by the end of the week? Well, that works great because Jon just broke up with his girlfriend and asked me to skip him every other rotation so he can go cry in the walk-in freezer. I used fake names but that did actually happen.

I had one server tell me that he was never worried about busy nights when I was working because he knew if he got overwhelmed, he didn't have to come to the host stand and beg for me to find a cover. He usually didn't even have to ask for a cover because if I saw him stressing out, I already knew that if I sat his section, I would need to ask another server to handle it. I hadn't realized how big of an impact I had made on him until he told me. But that moment, I understood what being a team player really was.

Being a team player, especially in a fast-paced, high-stress environment like a restaurant, is so incredibly important. To me, that means looking out for your coworkers; understanding that everyone is coming in to work with their own set of struggles and finding ways to help them bring their best even on their worst days.

So, what does it mean to you to be a team player?

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