Quotes to Inspire Collaboration and Teamwork
Collaboration isn’t easy – sometimes, a good quote can inspire us to keep working towards our common goals. Here are thirty quotes to inspire collaboration and teamwork that we’ve come across in our work. They’re perfect for your next network gathering, training, publication or program!
1) “Collaboration is the essence of life. The wind, bees and flowers work together, to spread the pollen.” ―
2) “The beauty of collaboration between older and younger generations is that we combine strength with wisdom.” ―
3) “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”―
4) “When people challenge your ideas, they help you (whether they know it or not).” ―
5) “Individual commitment to a group effort–that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”―Vince Lombardi
6) “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” ―Andrew Carnegie
7) “Collaboration allows teachers to capture each other’s fund of collective intelligence.” ―Mike Schmoker
8) “To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.” ―Mike Krzyzewski
9) “Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” ―Patrick Lencioni
10) “We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along those sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results.” – Herman Melville
11) “As with any complex living system, when people come together as a group, we cannot always know what it is they will create. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Vying for the predictable means shortchanging ourselves of new possibilities, one of the great promises of networks.” –Curtis Ogden
12) “Collaboration is like carbonation for fresh ideas. Working together bubbles up ideas you would not have come up with solo, which gets you further faster.” –Caroline Ghosn
13) “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” – Isaac Newton
14) “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” -Ryunosuke Satoro
15) “Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
16) “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
17) “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
18) “There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.” – George Shinn
19) “The ratio of We’s to I’s is the best indicator of the development of a team.” – Lewis B. Ergen
20) “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
About the Author: Alex Derr, M.P.A.
Director of Marketing & Communications
Alex joined VNL in 2017, originally supporting our events. He now helps manages our communications and marketing strategy and content development work. Alex creates blogs, infographics, reports, and other content while managing our web and social media presence. He also runs our email marketing campaigns, tracks analytics, and conducts market research to drive our strategy. He supports our entire team with copywriting, graphic design and research, and helps with events, webinars, demos, and other online learning. When he isn’t at work Alex spends his time climbing 14ers (30 done, 28 to go!) and blogging on his own website, The Next Summit Blog.
