The Eagles Lesson In Teamwork We All Can Learn From
By Jeff Whitaker
Who would have thought the Philadelphia Eagles would be headed to the Super Bowl? Not a lot of people after December’s setback when quarterback Carson Wentz tore his ACL. With Wentz out for the season, many sportswriters and fans as well, thought the entire team would come to a screeching halt too. But they were wrong. And in less than two weeks, the Bird are headed to Minneapolis.
So, how has a team that lost their leader managed to not only hang on, but actually dominate?
Many would say it comes down to teamwork and determination. There are so many lessons we can all learn from the Eagles and apply to our own lives.
In his book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, John Maxwell writes about what he calls The Law of Mount Everest. It essentially says when the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. That couldn’t be more true for the Eagles and for each of us as well. The reality in life is we can’t go it alone and we were never meant to either. We all need a strong support team if we’re to achieve everything we are capable of accomplishing. In the case of the Eagles, backup quarterback Nick Foles was called into service and stepped up to the plate big-time. But the truth is, the rest of the team had to ‘up their game’ in a big way as well.
Which reminds me of another of the 17 Laws, The Law of Significance. That law says that one is too small a number to achieve greatness. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. The saying applies to how we tackle life as well. The reality is, when each of us learn (whether in our personal lives or in business) to bring our individual gifts to the table, play to our strengths and let everyone else play to theirs, the odds of winning in any aspect of life increases tremendously. But going at life solo doesn’t cut it.
Who is on your team? Are you trying to go it alone or are you relying on the assistance of others to help you accomplish all you can on the job and in your personal life? It’s still the beginning of 2018 and if you want to have a winning year, take a lesson from the Eagles, build your team of support and draw on the strengths of each team member to make this your best year ever. Together you can do it!
