I have really enjoyed watching the first week of the Olympics. It has been fun to watch Michael Phelps add four gold and two silver medals to his count. It was amazing to watch Gabrielle Douglas win gold in the women’s gymnastics all around finals. I enjoyed watching Missy Franklin, Allison Schmitt, Ryan Lochte, and all the others win gold in swimming.
I am impressed with all of these who won individual events, but when you look at the story behind each one of these individual medal winners, they all have one common characteristic. They didn’t reach this level of achievement on their own. They were a part of a larger team of people who helped them to reach gold. As I watched interviews following their victories, virtually everyone of these gold medalists credited their success to others who helped them along the way. They admitted that without the help of family, coaches, teammates, training partners, etc., they would not have been able to win.
John Maxwell states in his book, The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, “The belief that one person can do something great is a myth.” He goes on to write, “Frontiersman Daniel Boone had companions from the Transylvania Company as he blazed the Wilderness Road. Sheriff Wyatt Earp had his two brothers and Doc Holliday looking out for him. Aviator Charles Lindbergh had nine businessmen from St. Louis and the services of Ryan Aeronautical Company, which built his plane.” The truth is, no one reaches success without the help of others.
How do you build a winning team? What makes a winning team? Why do some teams seem to go straight to the top while others seem to go nowhere? These are the questions we will be seeking to answer in my new Mastermind Course on John Maxwell’s book, The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork. My passion is to help teams win. If you want to learn how to build a winning team let me encourage you to sign up for this course. Go to www.bnleadership.org.
