Lessons on teamwork from the meat section.
On a recent grocery shopping trip, my partner and I stood in line waiting for a hot chicken coming out of the rotisserie. The associate was frantically pulling the birds and packaging them for the long line of customers. Meanwhile, her colleague was a few feet down stocking meat in coolers. He glanced at her and promptly returned to stacking ribeyes and ground beef.
She didn’t sweat as she methodically packaged the birds in their trays, slapped them shut with a sticker, and racked them on a wheeled cart. She placed the sizzling chickens – one by one – under the heated display. Her process was as efficient as it could be for a solo operation.
While we were impressed by her swiftness in meeting customer demand, we were dismayed by the obvious lack of collaboration and teamwork among the associates. The meat stocker saw the waiting line wrapped around the beer displays because he had casually bypassed it at least twice while carting a tall rack of packaged meat.
Granted, we didn’t know the store’s staffing plan for the day, but we wondered why the stocker – having seen his colleague surrounded by chickens and impatient customers – didn’t pause his work for a few minutes to support her. The cooler stations were already brimming with different meats before he rolled out more, and no one was browsing them at the time. It didn’t seem like a struggle for the associate to pivot quickly, help his colleague pack and distribute the chickens, and then return to his assignment.
But the associate didn’t let the lack of help deter her from her duties – she eventually filled the heated display, and many customers thanked her for her efforts. While we were happy with the outcome (two tasty chickens 😋), we were disappointed in the missed opportunity for active collaboration among the teammates.
Collaboration is crucial to a successful team. It improves both individual and team outputs.
Sometimes, it’s lending your skills and experience to support projects, solve problems, and close gaps. And sometimes, it’s helping a teammate when they have their hands full with juicy chickens.