How to Become an A-Player on Your Shift - Skill, Speed, Safety

When Steve Jobs pulled together the original Mac team, he learned a simple truth: people who bring their best to work want to be surrounded by others who do the same. In Walter Isaacson’s biography, Jobs explains, “The original Mac team taught me that A-Players like to work together, and they don’t like it if you tolerate B work.” (2011, p. 170). ([readdiary.com][1])

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Welcome to the Dyad Force Flex Crew. Each week we take a pressing frontline topic, put it on the table, and break it down in plain language you can use on shift. Whether you’re lacing up your work boots, checking your rig, scrubbing in, or firing up the line, this community is for people who work with their hands and take pride in their craft. We choose standards over shortcuts. We choose growth over comfort. We choose crews that make us better. That’s the spirit behind our promise: Your Hands Will Set You Free.

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Today’s Crew Upgrade

A-players want to play with other A-players, it is just human nature. On a construction site, poor layout or sloppy cuts don’t just slow the pour—they compromise safety and schedule. In the firehouse, a slow suite-up or hose deployment isn’t just bad form—it’s seconds you can’t buy back. On the unit, unclear handoffs or thin staffing don’t just add stress—they put patients at risk. In the kitchen, one weak station can break the whole service line. “A players” isn’t about ego; it’s about standards and quality that keep people safe and make the work shine.

Do we have evidence beyond Job’s tech story? Yes. In healthcare, systematic research found that higher skilled registered nurse staffing is associated with better patient outcomes over time—fewer complications and lower mortality. Skill level and team composition matter. That’s the “A-players with A-players” idea, translated into lives saved. ([PubMed][2])

The lesson is universal: strong talent + strong team habits outperform headcount and overtime, every time. When we insist on standards and coach people up to them, the job goes smoother, safer, and prouder.

Practical Tips to Become an A-Player

If your team isn’t all A-players yet, don’t complain—build the conditions where A-quality work becomes normal.

 1. Make “what good work looks like” visible—every shift. 

When everyone knows exactly what “good” looks. Write it down. Say it out loud. Practice it until it’s automatic.

•  Construction: Pin a one-page “job-ready” sheet at the gang box: PPE, today’s critical tolerances (e.g., rebar tie pattern, cut list tolerances), inspection points, stop-work triggers. Quality already shows up in the prep.

•  Fire/Rescue: Pre-shift rig check with two micro-drills: suite up/mask-up time and dry hose pull. Record times on the whiteboard. The board tells a story—speed up or tighten technique next shift.

•  Healthcare: Two-minute safety huddle at the board: role assignments, a “watch list” of high-risk patients, and clear escalation routes. Close with read-backs to confirm who owns what. (Better staffing and clear roles are part of why outcomes improve. Keep pushing for that coverage.)  ([PubMed][2])

•  Culinary: Hold each station accountable with a simple board that lists amounts, hold times, and a photo of the finished plate. The picture sets a shared target—so every cook plates the same way.

Team Huddle - job-ready sheet

 2. Pair to level-up, but  not to babysit.

Short, focused coaching blocks beat endless shadowing. Pick one skill per block: safe saw handling, ladder throws, sterile line setup, sauté rhythm. An A-player demonstrates at full speed once, then breaks it down, then the learner reps it under time. Close with a single improvement target for tomorrow.

 3. Run a tight 5-minute After-Action huddle—before people scatter.

Huddle on site, in vehicle, or break room. Set a 5-minute timer on your phone with your Dyad Work Companion: 

• What worked? Name the behaviors and steps to keep.

• What dragged us down? Identify one friction point (not five).

• What changes tomorrow? Pick one fix, assign an owner, and set when it goes live (next shift, next call, next ticket).

This is the habit that converts individual talent into team reliability—exactly the kind of teamwork pathway tied to safer outcomes. ([PubMed][2])

 4. Protect the standards without shaming the team.

If you don’t know to what standards you should preform you work, we got you covered.  Dyad, work companion is fully loaded with all standards and code for you industry.  Just chose the companion and language / region you want in app settings and you will get access to all standards and codes for industries: construction, firefighting, healthcare, and culinary. 

Dyad Force app - Work companions: Construction, Firefighting, Healthcare, Culinary.

Don’t tolerate sloppy work in high-risk roles. Ever. Call this team members out or talk to your leader about it.  Leader can move people off critical tasks until skill is proven and give them a path back: practice plan, measures, and a retest date. Praise in public when someone earns their way back. Make the path visible so nobody feels written off.

If you are lacking skills and resources to perform your work up to standards, don’t be embarrassed to ask your leader for training, tools, or another teammate.

5. When the crew won’t raise the bar, raise your environment — and capture proof while you do

Sometimes the most honest move is to seek the team that matches your drive. Keep log or journal of achievements, just like a pro athlete. This will help you get raise and promotion in the future. While you’re leveling up—or preparing to switch crews—document your wins so your work speaks for itself.

The Flex Log - Proof of Work / Shift Journal / Field Record 

This is your personal portfolio of real-world results—photos, metrics, and notes—so supervisors, hiring managers, and the Flex Crew community can see exactly what your hands can do.

Why it matters

• Promotion Tool: Verified entries become ready-made evidence in work reviews.

• Personal Pride: A “game tape” of progress—see your skills compound.

• Peer Recognition: Share select highlights with the Flex Crew for inspiration or friendly contests.

• Career Mobility: Show up to a new shop or station with a living portfolio.

• Mental Health & Reflection: Short journaling reduces burnout and builds self-awareness.

Start your Flex Log this week by:

1. Just start taking pictures of your work and add notes about what was complete. 

2. Log the work Daily: 

3. Examples: “Framed 1,200 sq ft to spec,” “Two-minute ladder throws x5,” “Managed 5 high-acuity patients,” or “Expo ran 120 plates on time.”

4. Metrics: Square footage, evolutions, patients, covers, hours—whatever proves the job.

5. Evidence: Photos or short videos (close-ups of tolerances, clean couplings, wound care setup, consistent plating).

6. Notes/Reflection: What clicked, what dragged, and one fix for next shift. Timestamp + optional camera GPS for authenticity when you want it.

Build your Flex Log to track real wins with proof: square footage framed to spec, live-fire evolutions completed, patient saves, double turns handled clean. Included numbers and photos.

How to change teams

• Scout new team’s culture. 

• Ask for a tour or sit in on a drill. Do they practice under time? Do they post standards? Do they coach? If yes, that’s a place where A-Players live.

• Ask for a trial shift. Lead with the skill you bring and the next ones you’re hungry to earn.

• Level your certs. Choose the license that moves your lane: OSHA 30, Firefighter II add-ons, RN specialty cert, ServSafe Manager. Credentials don’t replace performance—but they open doors that let your performance shine.

Weekly Reminder

Talent gets you to the site, the bay, the unit, the line. Standards and teamwork keep you there. Post the standard, train the standard, preform the standard. That’s how a crew earns the right to call itself an A-team—shift after shift.

This week, pick one standard your crew will write down, drill, and defend. Send me your before/after—what changed, how you measured it, and who owned it. I’ll help you map the next upgrade. Keep showing up with your hands, your head, and your pride. Your Hands Will Set You Free.

Publisher: Joel George

Editor: Olivia Arvela

References

[1] Steve Jobs quote (from the biography): Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs (2011), p. 170: “The original Mac team taught me that A-plus players like to work together, and they don’t like it if you tolerate B work.” Verified in the text of the book. ([readdiary.com][1])

[2] Research backing team composition & outcomes: Dall’Ora C, Saville C, Rubbo B, Turner L, Griffiths P. Nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 2022;134:104311. Finding: higher RN staffing is associated with better outcomes over time. ([PubMed][2])