My First Real Job: Team Lessons from the Gas Station
Where Ties, Tasks, and Teamwork Converged
My First Real Job: Team Lessons from the Gas Station
Picture this: a gas station where employees wore ties. Yes, you read that right - ties! This was my first real team-based job, and surprisingly, I loved every minute of it.
While I'd had other jobs before - paper boy, lawn mower, warming house attendant - they were all solo ventures. The gas station introduced me to the fascinating dynamics of working with a diverse team. We had quite the hierarchy: one manager, two assistants, and various shift leaders overseeing different crews. The staff was a mosaic of personalities: full-timers working M-F days, evening and weekend warriors, part-timers like myself, and the overnight crew - a unique bunch that seemed to operate in their own distinct world.
The job itself was straightforward. Each shift came with a checklist of tasks that we'd divide among ourselves while ensuring someone always manned the register. I quickly learned an important lesson: customer traffic was unpredictable, so completing tasks early meant you could actually finish your shift on time. Plus, it meant more time to hang out together at the registers.
Thanks to my work ethic, I soon received my first promotion to shift leader. Suddenly, I could access the safe, handle large bills, and manage deposits. But here's where it got interesting - I was often in charge of people significantly older than me, with zero management training. A shift leader was more of a guide than a boss, with limited decision-making power and slightly better pay. We mediated disputes about task assignment and break schedules, walking a fine line between peer and authority figure.
Through this experience, I observed three distinct types of coworkers:
The Achievers - like myself - reliable, dedicated, and always striving to excel
The Competent - showed up, did their job adequately, nothing more
The Slackers - chronically late, tasks incomplete, eventually disappeared after no-shows
But the most valuable lessons weren't about job titles or task management. They were about people. I learned that compromise is essential - the work needs to get done, regardless of personal preferences. I discovered the importance of treating everyone as teammates, recognizing that we're all in it together, even if just for an eight-hour shift. Most importantly, I learned that maintaining a sense of fun makes everything easier. After all, it's just work - why not enjoy the process?
Looking back, that gas station job, with its seemingly simple routine and mandatory neckties, taught me fundamental lessons about leadership, teamwork, and human nature that I still carry with me today.In exploring mental models recently, I found myself drawn to thermodynamics and its surprising parallels to organizational dynamics. Consider a simple example: when you mix ice with water, the water melts the ice while the ice cools the water until they reach an equilibrium. Leave the glass long enough, and the water will eventually match room temperature. This natural process of finding balance mirrors something fascinating about team culture.
