No one is bigger than the team!

Belichick and Brady in discussion

According to reporting by ESPN, Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady got into a little back and forth argument.  Belichick was complaining, according to the report, about Brady’s sloppiness in a recent game—poor completion record, a couple of interceptions, etc.  And of course, Brady is a superstar with five SuperBowl rings and wasn’t having any of it.  Belichick is reported to have told Brady “No one is bigger than the team”.

What a lesson for all of us: no one is bigger than the team.  No matter what team we’re on—a sports team, a business team, a sales team, an educational team—we’re all on a team of some sort.  In fact,  we may be on several teams.

It’s very easy, especially when we’re successful, to think that it’s all about us—I did that, I accomplished that, it’s all about me.  But it never is.  A lot of people help all of us get where we are.  A lot of people sacrifice many things to allow us to succeed: our spouses, our parents, our children, our bosses, our employees, the folks sitting behind the desk making our lives a little easier.

It’s time to start each day by telling ourselves “I am not bigger than the team”.  And it’s time to start thanking the team for what they do to help us achieve our goals.