"Team player" is code for the middling level of ambition (MacLeod Clueless). Not a disengaged doesn't-give-a-shit clock-puncher, but not attuned/savvy enough to

"Team player" is code for the middling level of ambition (MacLeod Clueless). Not a disengaged doesn't-give-a-shit clock-puncher, but not attuned/savvy enough to focus only on projects conferring personal career benefit. It has little to do with whether one actually works well in a team. It's just a codeword for something that's hard to describe and somewhat socially unacceptable (a middling level of ambition that only exists in fresh college grads who haven't figured out who they are yet) to want.