Quotes About Teamwork

The captains in Tier One were not poseurs. They didn't make speeches, didn't seek attention or acclaim, and were not comfortable wearing the cloak of power. Most of them took subservient roles and carried water for their teammates. In other words, they behaved precisely the way Gruenfeld describes. They won status by doing everything in their power to suggest they didn't deserve it.

On a team, he said, "you can't only have architects. You also need bricklayers.

If there is a pathway into the minds of human beings that bypasses consciousness and absorbs the emotions of others; and if this pathway can be activated by the sight of a bloody uniform, a hair-raising tribal dance, or just a deep stare; and if these displays can propel a team to run faster, jump higher, hit harder, and push through pain and exhaustion, then these captains must have been masters of the art.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him," he wrote. "Fail to honor others and they will fail to honor you. But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aims fulfilled, they will all say, 'we did this ourselves.'

What I realized about this glorious experience, years later, is that it had forever modified my expectations. The Bombers gave me a taste of what it was like to play on an excellent team, and this had rewired my brain to believe it was my God-given right to experience the same sensation many times over.

Studies have shown that a team leader who is in a positive mood can increase a group's enthusiasm, help it to channel anger more constructively, and even coax it to perform better on specific tasks.

The captain is the figure who holds sway over the dressing room by speaking to teammates as a peer, counseling them on and off the field, motivating them, challenging them, protecting them, resolving disputes, enforcing standards, inspiring fear when necessary, and above all setting a tone with words and deeds.

The less identifiable one person's effort is, the less effort they put in.

On the Tier One Teams I studied, the typical pecking order put the coach at the top, the talent on the bottom, and a water-carrying captain in the middle who served as an independent mediator between them. In this new order, where power and popularity went hand in hand, the middle manager's role had been squeezed out. Unless the captain was the superstar, the captain was a bystander.

The antidote is the knowledge that someone else in the group is leaving nothing in reserve.

They are democratic with their time—communicating with everyone equally and making sure all team members get a chance to contribute.

The single most important ingredient after you get the talent is internal leadership. It's not the coaches as much as one single person or people on the team who set higher standards than that team would normally set for itself.

The same unceasing drive was something displayed by Russell, Puyol, Berra, Richard, and every other captain in Tier One. Early struggles culminated in a defining moment, a breakthrough that left no doubt about their desire to win at any cost. And in each case, after they had established this fact, their teams began to turn the corner. The pattern was so consistent that it suggested their doggedness might, in fact, have been contagious.

Beyond this, most of the Tier One captains had zero interest in the trappings of fame. They didn't pursue the captaincy for the prestige it conveyed—if they pursued it at all. In 2004, when Carles Puyol's teammates unanimously elected him captain, his was the only dissenting vote. "I thought it was more ethical to vote for others," he told me.

Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune.

Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.

What's really worried me over the years is not our stock price, but that we might someday fail to take care of our customers, or that our managers might fail to motivate and take care of our associates. I also was worried that we might lose the team concept, or fail to keep the family concept viable and realistic and meaningful to our folks as we grow. Those challenges are more real than somebody's theory that we're headed down the wrong path. As

Individuals don't win, teams do

Listen," he said firmly. "If you hear nothing else, hear this. You work at the White House. There is no other room where a bunch of really smart people of sound judgment are getting together and figuring out what to do. It will be the scariest moment of your life when you fully internalize this: There is no other meeting. You're in the meeting. You are the meeting. If you have a concern, raise it.

Without ever discussing it or making a conscious shift, we reflexively engaged one another in meetings. This did not mean we always agreed with one another; some of my most heartfelt arguments were with my fellow female Senior Directors. But we took one another's ideas seriously. This meant never leaving them simply hanging in the air, which typically happened in large group discussions.

It's better to have a hole in your team than an asshole in your team!

The success of the Rat Pack or the Clan was due to the camaraderie, the three guys who work together and kid each other and love each other.

Union may be strength, but it is mere brute strength unless wisely directed.

saying my fellow-officers are obliged to me, as indeed they