The Eastern Way: Fundamental 17 “Be a Team Player”

This fundamental was written by Connie Poormon, who has worked at Eastern Funding’s Specialty Vehicle division since it opened its doors in 2012. Connie is a documentation manager at Specialty Vehicle who has over 16 years of experience in the tow truck and specialty vehicle industry. Connie has done everything from working in the credit department to funding. She has worked for banks, leasing companies and dealerships.

Be a Team Player – We each play important roles in the interdependent chain of events required to deliver for our customers. Look for opportunities to assist each other. Position the next person in the chain for success by anticipating their needs and producing quality work. We win and lose as a team.

Let me start with one of my favorite quotes: “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime” – Babe Ruth.

To me, being a team player means not only playing your part to the best of your ability but assisting others outside of your department in being able to do their part as well. Whether it’s doing a “last minute” set of docs so that the sales staff meets their dealers/customer’s needs, sending fundings over as early in the day as possible so that funding and loan servicing have adequate time to complete their jobs, or helping customer service get necessary customer documentation/information for modifications or changes to an account, thinking outside the realm of your own role helps the company function better as a whole and provides outstanding service to both our internal and external customers.

I believe this fundamental can also be applied to family life, as well as professional life. When you have a large family, it’s vital that each family member look not only at their own needs but the needs of other family members as well. Whether it’s being up and ready in the morning so everyone can be to school/work on time or being quiet after a certain hour so the baby in the house can sleep, everyone needs to work together.

Thank you for reading my take on this fundamental. Up next is Jeff with Fundamental 18 – Be a source of meaningful acknowledgement and appreciation.