Team motivational quotes: 10 quotes to strengthen team cohesion
A team motivational quote is a great tool to help a manager that is out of inspiration find the right words to motivate his team.
If the main purpose of task management is to promote working in a collaborative spirit to increase productivity, a short quote is always nice to hear to stimulate team cohesion.
We have curated a list of 10 powerful quotes that you can use to motivate your team. The goal is to encourage every employee to see their co-workers as teammates, rather than just colleagues.
Be inspired by great people such as Winston Churchill, Steve Jobs, Confucius, and many others!
10 quotes on teamwork:
| Rank | Quote | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people. | Steve Jobs |
| 2 | Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. | Helen Keller |
| 3 | If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. | Henry Ford |
| 4 | Everyone knew it was impossible to do.
Then one day someone came who didn’t know, and he did. |
Mark Twain |
| 5 | Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. | Confucius |
| 6 | Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. | Michael Jordan |
| 7 | When two forces unite, their efficiency doubles. | Isaac Newton |
| 8 | No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it. | H.E. Luccock |
| 9 | If only HP knew what HP knows, we'd be three times more productive. | Lew Platt (ex-CEO of HP) |
| 10 | No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team. | Reid Hoffman (Co-founder and former executive chairman of Linkedin) |
A quote to unite your team
Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people.
A quote by Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was known for being a captivating speaker, and he was, without question, one of the most inspirational businessmen of his generation. He made Apple into one of the most powerful brands in the world.
Use this quote to get the best out of your team and show them the importance of collaboration and all that a team can accomplish by working together.
A thought to encourage working together
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
A quote by Helen Keller
Helen Keller, a deaf-blind political activist and author, was famous for inspiring people and being an important figure that showed how will power and hard work can make anyone overcome some of life’s most difficult challenges.
This simple quote shows that if a team works together on a common goal, they can achieve things beyond their greatest imagination.
Enthusiasm to stimulate team spirit
If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
A quote by Henry Ford
Henry Ford was a pioneer in the automobile industry. He founded the Ford Motor Company, sold millions of cars and made Ford one of the most powerful companies in the world.
Good team management also means empowering employees. It helps to manage conflicts and makes them think outside of the box. Above all, it is an important step to improve cooperation.
You can use one of Ford’s most famous quotes to show your team that they can achieve anything as long as they use their resources wisely.
A unique quote to encourage team initiative
Everyone knew it was impossible to do. Then one day someone came who didn’t know, and he did.
A quote by Mark Twain
Mark Twain was known for being one of the most influential writers of America. What many people don’t know, however, is that Mark Twain was also a public speaker.
You can use this quote to show your team that sometimes they need to be creative and work as a team to resolve a problem. As teamwork plays a key role in achieving success.
A positive quote to support effort and goodwill
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
A quote by Confucius
It is important to encourage employees to go to great lengths: to encourage them to persevere, even if they fail, is a sign of recognition of their efforts.
You can even tell them about one of your failures and how you got around or solved a problem by seeing and approaching things differently!
Positive psychology lifts frustrations with optimism. And, by using this technique, you will be able to develop each person’s ability to surpass themselves.
A quote to boost team dynamics
Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.
A quote by Michael Jordan
With a valiant heart, nothing is impossible: it is by working together that makes a team reach its goals. If you do not work as a team, you are sure you will have a more difficult time being successful.
This quote on teamwork also thanks employees who go one step further and deliver exceptional results.
A quote to encourage collaboration
When two forces unite, their efficiency doubles.
A quote by Isaac Newton
This quote explains in a very simple way the synergy effect to your employees: one plus one equals three in a way.
Establish a sense of belonging and show your employees that working together as a team will increase their efficiency.
A quote to support long-term work motivation
No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.
A quote by H.E. Luccock
H.E. Luccock shows that people that have different knowledge and skill sets can produce something magical if they work together as a team. However, they would have a more difficult time doing so, if it was just up to one person.
A quote to develop collective intelligence
If only HP knew what HP knows, we'd be three times more productive.
A quote by Lew Platt
The former HP CEO expresses the importance of knowledge sharing for work efficiency and productivity gains.
Once again, in a well-forged team, we are more inclined to talk to each other, to share information and to work more efficiently.
A proverb about teamwork
No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.
A quote by Reid Hoffman
Indeed, the combined effect of a team is greater than that of individual efforts. Reif Hoffman shows that even the most brilliant individuals require a team to achieve success.
How can teamwork be improved?
While nice quotes can be good for team morale, they are not enough to improve teamwork, especially when there is a loss of efficiency, a general drop in productivity or even a drop in turnover!
How to detect and solve these problems
Don’t ignore the usual signs, listen around you, and pay attention: we have created a useful table that will help you identify several difficulties your employees can encounter and how you can improve the situation by using some collaborative tools.
Here is our recommended list of the best software you can use to improve teamwork:
| Situation | Sources of the problem | Solutions | Benefits experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| I can start work around 5:00 pm
we have plenty of time for tomorrow’s render at 8:00 a.m. |
453 unread emails
6 meetings since this morning |
For a single workspace per project, we recommend using Ganttproject:
|
Improves communication
Facilitates information flow Simplifies exchanges between employees |
| What do you mean there is a 16th version of the “V12 Strategy DEF” document? | Poor communication
Lack of document sharing |
||
| Do you know who is in charge of the “URGENT” folder? | Poor work organisation | You can use a visual task management such as Asana:
|
Sets roles
Defines responsibilities Enables optimal project management Increases individual performance Increases collective productivity |
| Where are we with the boss’s cousin’s order? | |||
| Oh wow, we've put the cart before the horses again. | |||
| It wasn’t me, I was not even aware of that! | Poor communication
Bad intentions? |
To improve communication, we recommend using instant messaging and chat software such as Zendesk.
✔ Mention a person in a comment like on social networks with an "@". ✔ "Seen" function |
|
| What do you mean you did not get the information? | The person in charge is out of town | Mobile App:
Trello provides a real-time synchronized workspace |
Provides a sense of freedom
Keeps you up to date and operational |
| Again! But I did the same thing 2 days ago | Recurring task | To avoid recurring tasks, we recommend using Wrike’s repetitive task function | Provides working comfort
Saves time Causes stimulating effects |
Developing team spirit also means providing the dedicated tools that allow everyone to improve communication and anticipate future projects, to adapt their schedules accordingly.
If you want your employees to work together and produce great results, we recommend using these tools. Without them, there is a high chance that your company loses time and money.