Teamwork Quotes From Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, And Others

Sometimes, hearing wisdom from others is just what a team needs to spark the fire of collaboration. From sports legends and business leaders to comedians and philosophers, here are 55 teamwork quotes to inspire collaboration in your team.

Quotes by Michael Jordan and others about the power of teamwork

Success is often the result of collective effort rather than individual ability. These quotes remind us that when talents are united towards a common goal, the results can surpass all expectations.

Quotes by Michael Jordan and others: Successful foundations

• "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." – Michael Jordan
• "Great things in business are never done by one person; they're done by a team of people." - Steve Jobs
• "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
• "Teamwork is the secret that makes common people achieve uncommon results." - Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

Success through shared efforts

• "Success is best when it's shared." – Howard Schultz
• "The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first." - Iyanla Vanzant
• "It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed." - Napolean Hill
• "Cooperation is the thorough conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there." - Virginia Burden

Team Phil Jackson: Quotes about collaboration and team dynamics

The essence of a strong team lies in how individual strengths complement each other. The following quotes highlight the importance of recognizing and leveraging these diverse abilities for the greater good of the team. They underscore the idea that acknowledging and valuing each team member's unique contribution can be crucial for collective success.

Quotes from team Phil Jackson and others on individual strengths

• "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team."- Phil Jackson
• "To build a strong team, you must see someone else's strength as a complement to your weakness and not a threat to your position or authority." - Christine Caine
• "I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things." - Mother Teresa
• "One piece of log creates a small fire, adequate to warm you up. Add just a few more pieces to blast an immense bonfire, large enough to warm up your entire circle of friends; needless to say that individuality counts, but teamwork dynamites." - Jin Kwon
• "No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you're playing a solo game, you'll always lose out to a team." - Reid Hoffman
• "If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." - Booker T. Washington
• "There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others." – George Shinn

Quotes about collaboration and unity by Vince Lombardi and others

Unity and collaboration are important for many successful teams. These quotes illustrate how collaboration transcends individual capabilities and creates a synergy that propels teams toward achieving extraordinary goals.

Power of unity in teamwork quotes by Vince Lombardi and others

• "Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." - Vince Lombardi
• "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller
• "Collaboration has no hierarchy. The Sun collaborates with soil to bring flowers on the earth." - Amit Ray
• "None of us is as smart as all of us." - Ken Blanchard
• "Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." – Ryunosuke Satoro

Building trust and shared vision

• "If you take out the team in teamwork, it's just work. Now, who wants that?" – Matthew Woodring Stover
• "In union, there is strength." – Aesop
• "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." – Henry Ford
• "A team is not a group of people who work together, but a team is a group of people who trust each other." - Simon Sinek
• "The nicest thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side." — Margaret Carty
• "Many of us are more capable than some of us, but none of us is as capable as all of us." - Tom Wilson
• "You are either supporting the vision or supporting division." - Saji Ijiyemi

Quotes about overcoming challenges through teamwork

Facing and overcoming challenges is integral to almost every team's journey. This collection of quotes is a testament to the resilience and strength teams can exhibit when they come together to tackle obstacles. They offer inspiration and courage, demonstrating that teamwork can turn tough times into triumphs.

Strength in unity during challenges

• "Tough times don't last. Tough teams do." - Robert Schuller
• "Only by binding together as a single force will we remain strong and unconquerable." - Chris Bradford
• "Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together." - Vesta M. Kelly
• "Teams share the burden and divide the grief" – Doug Smith
• "Many hands make light work." - John Heywood

Quotes that emphasize the inspirational aspect of teamwork

Teamwork has the power to inspire and motivate, and these quotes shed light on how being part of a team can be a deeply transformative and uplifting experience. 

Inspiration through collective effort and teamwork quotes

• "Teams are incredible things. No task is too great, no accomplishment too grand, no dream too far-fetched for a team. It takes teamwork to make the dream work." - John Maxwell
• "Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life." – Amy Poehler
• "What separates the good players from a great player is that a great player is willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group." - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• "The ratio of We's to I's is the best indicator of the development of a team." - Lewis B. Ergen
• "Working with others is, in my mind, the future of business. You have a larger audience, more ideas, shared risk, shared workload, and you will be getting a portion of something greater than had you done it alone." - Seth Nichol

Teamwork quotes about leadership and guidance

The quotes in this section explore how leaders can foster collaboration and mutual respect within their teams. They emphasize the role of leadership in creating an environment where teamwork can flourish and collective goals are achieved.

Leadership in fostering teamwork

• "Not finance, not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and rare." - Patrick Lencioni
• "A team is more than a collection of people. It is a process of give and take." - Barbara Glacel
• "The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people." - Theodore Roosevelt
• "A major reason capable people fail to advance is that they don't work well with their colleagues." - Lee Iacocca
• "The secret is to gang up on the problem, rather than each other." - Thomas Stallkamp
• "I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I sure can pick smart colleagues." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
• "Don't aspire to be the best on the team. Aspire to be the best for the team" - Brian Tracy
• "It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." – Charles Darwin
• "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better." – Abraham Lincoln
• "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."– Harry S Truman

Team quotes on the philosophical and reflective sides of teamwork

These quotes provide a deeper, more reflective insight into the essence of teamwork. They encourage us to think about the larger implications of working together and the profound impact it can have on our lives and society.

Team quotes on reflecting on the essence of teamwork

• "The whole is other than the sum of the parts." - Kurt Koffka
• "You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist." – Indira Gandhi
• "In teamwork, silence isn't golden. It's deadly." - Mark Sanborn
• "Teamwork. A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction." - Justin Sewell
• "When you need to innovate, you need collaboration." - Marissa Mayer
• "One finger cannot lift a pebble." - Hopi proverb

Ways to support collaboration 

If you'd like more support, consider reaching out to a professional licensed therapist. A therapist can help you understand how to communicate and collaborate with others and provide strategies for creating more meaningful connections and relationships. If your busy schedule makes attending in-person therapy appointments difficult, consider online therapy instead. With online therapy, you can fit sessions around your life and attend them in a space that feels comfortable to you. 

In addition, research shows that most patients agree that online therapy is as satisfying and effective as traditional, in-person therapy, making it an option worth considering for people on the go.