“No member of a crew is praised for the rugged individuality of his rowing.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This week’s team building quote comes from a great American poet and philosopher in the nineteenth century. Ralph Waldo Emerson is known for his poems, essays, lectures, and views on individualism in society. Teams can help turn individual failure into group success.

Emerson valued the individual and promoted self-reliance and self interest. He thought that the individual was the fundamental part of human nature and it needed to be valued. However, even with his strong support of individualism, Emerson knew that in order to be an effective society, heroes could not be encouraged.

From Failure to Success

To be a team that is successful with members who support each other, individuals cannot focus on their own achievements or failures. They must instead focus on their team members, build on each other’s strengths and compliment each other’s weaknesses. Emerson’s body of work is considered some of the best in American history and has helped shape many thinkers today. He allowed people to believe in themselves and find a way to start something of their own. He said:

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.”

This sentiment applies to individuals, teams, societies, cultures, and the world as a while. When something fails it does not mean the end, but it means it is time to rise. As a team, failures provide opportunities to pick each other up, assess situations from all angles and keep moving forward. Without the combined strength and willpower of all the individuals, the project will not grow and ideas will not develop.

When was there a time when your team refused to give up? Did you go from failure to success?

Let us know when you and your team decided that failing was not an option! Check out our blog every week for more team building quotes to inspire you and your team, and let us know which ones motivate you to excellence.