Team Building Quotes To Encourage Teamwork (2024)

Team building quotes are famous expressions and sayings, focusing on a variety of topics including teamwork, open communication, and overcoming struggles. Team leaders often use these quotes to inspire and motivate their colleagues, and ultimately improve the company culture as a whole.

What are the benefits of working as a team?

As the classic team building quote says, “it takes a village to raise a child”. Teamwork is the foundation of success and is a vital component in accomplishing goals. Whether working all together in one single location or collaborating with co-workers around the globe, teamwork is essential to continue moving forward. Everyone ultimately has the same goal, so why not focus on building up comradery instead of creating divisions? For a team to grow to its greatest heights, it is important to build a work culture in which each team member chooses to help the others not because they are required to, but because they genuinely want to. And when coworkers have the support of a strong team, there is nothing that can stand in the way of success. The great thing about teamwork is that it comes in all sizes, making this list of team building quotes diverse.

What are team building quotes?

Everyone is inspired differently, but that does not mean there are no common traits we all share. Everyone wants recognition for a job well done, and everyone wants to feel as though they are contributing and that their contributions matter. Quotes for team building are a fantastic way to pass along words of encouragement to keep the positive momentum going, and they come with the added benefit of being quick, easy, and free. Whether praise for a successful accomplishment or a friendly push to let everyone know what they are doing matters, a great team building quote can reach people far and wide. You can choose inspirational team building quotes or funny team building quotes depending on the tone you are looking to set for your team at that point in time.

Of course, these quotes won’t take the place of a one-on-one interaction, but they are a fantastic motivator to inspire everyone and remind them that what they are working on matters. Team morale has the incredible ability to increase productivity and individual performance, and even job satisfaction as a whole. A good team building quote can boost morale by encouraging the whole team to band together, and quotes about building a team can speak volumes to your employees and coworkers.

Team Building Teamwork Quotes

Quotes on team building are notable sayings and expressions with a strong emphasis on teamwork, collaboration, and encouragement. Team building quotes inspire others and encourage teamwork. Leaders and managers will often use these team building quotes in an effort to educate and motivate everyone around them. Whether speaking to project leaders or dedicated team members, a great team building quote can bring everyone together. These quotes can motivate members to work together, to encourage each other to take a firm leadership role, or to lighten the tension with some added humor. Many are attributed to historically relevant leaders and revered community figures – often as a means of encouraging others to one day reach the same level of success that they themselves have achieved. No matter what style is used, all team building quotes ultimately achieve the same desired outcome of bringing the team together.

Quotes on Leadership

All of the best leaders have one thing in common: they understand that they are unable to achieve greatness alone. Here are a few inspirational team building quotes that emphasize the importance of leadership, and what it means to build others towards success. After all, a mark of true leadership is being able to grow a group of individuals to a team success. These team building quotes focus on leaders and leadership but can be applied to anyone looking to take ownership of their success.

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” – Arnold Glasow, author
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” –Gen. George S. Patton
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” –Jack Welch, former CEO and Chairman of GE
“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” -former President Theodore Roosevelt
“To lead people, walk beside them. As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence… When the best leader’s work is done, the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!’” –Lao Tzu, philosopher
“Earn your leadership every day.” –Michael Jordan, NBA star
“Make sure you’re not just waiting for someone else to fix things, or hoping that things will improve… Figure out what’s going on and make a plan to improve things.” –Kenneth W. Thomas, author
“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.” –Walter Lippmann, writer, and political commentator
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” -former President Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Leadership is the capacity to transform vision into reality.” –Warren G. Bennis, founding chairman of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California

Motivational Quotes

Whether a person is feeling the highest highs or the lowest lows, anyone can appreciate a little extra motivation. These team building motivational quotes highlight finding the positive in all situations and encourage team building through motivation. These team building quotes focus on both the motivational and inspirational aspects of overcoming challenges.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” –Henry Ford, entrepreneur
“What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change.” –Madeleine Albright, politician
“True heroes are made of hard work and integrity.” –Hope Solo, soccer player
“It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.” –Shonda Rhimes, television producer
“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to live up to what light I have.” -former President Abraham Lincoln
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” –Steve Jobs, business magnate
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” -former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
“People doing good work feel good and people doing exceptional work feel exceptional. Accomplishments contribute greatly to satisfaction.” –Mark Sanborn, author
“Don’t settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had.” –Angela Bassett, actress
“Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” -His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Collaboration Quotes

Teamwork is the not-so-secret ingredient to the long term success of any organization. These team building quotes focus on the importance of working together as a team. After all, it should be the goal of each individual not only to succeed, but to see the success of others all around them.

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” –H.E. Lucco*ck, professor
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” –Helen Keller, activist
“Cooperation is the thorough conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there.” –Virginia Burden, author
“The chain is only as strong as its weakest link, for if that fails the chain fails and the object that it has been holding up falls to the ground.” –Thomas Reid, philosopher
“It’s very dramatic when two people come together to work something out. It’s easy to take a gun and annihilate your opposition, but what is really exciting to me is to see people with differing views come together and finally respect each other.” –Fred Rogers, children’s entertainer
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” –Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leader
“Collaboration is a key part of the success of any organization, executed through a clearly defined vision and mission and based on transparency and constant communication.” –Dinesh Paliwal, president and CEO of Harman International
“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, naturalist
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” –Phil Jackson, NBA coach
“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, industrialist

Team Communication Quotes

Effective communication is crucial to a high-functioning team. Understanding the meaning behind the words we use and how they are interpreted by others is an advanced skill teams strive for. These team building quotes will encourage team members to open up a new line of dialog with each other. Communicating as a team is one of the most important elements of any organization, and these team building quotes bring to light their importance.

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” –George Bernard Shaw, playwright
“Excellent communication doesn’t just happen naturally. It is a product of process, skill, climate, relationship and hard work.” –Pat McMillan, CEO
“Communication works for those who work at it.” –John Powell, film composer
“Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.” –Robert Frost, author
“Great communication begins with connection.” –Oprah Winfrey, television host and producer
“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.” –Anne Morrow Lindbergh, aviator
“The great enemy of communication, we find, is the illusion of it.” –William H. Whyte, sociologist
“Unity is strength…when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” –Mattie Stepanek, poet
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” –Plato, philosopher
“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” –Brian Tracy, motivational speaker

Quotes on togetherness

By definition, each team has a common goal. These goals can be accomplished by an individual, but a team will have much greater success when everyone works together. These team building teamwork quotes emphasize the importance of togetherness and working together as a larger, stronger team to achieve success. At the end of the day, the key component of a good team building quote is the team itself.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” –Babe Ruth, legendary MLB player
“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot: together we can do great things.” -Saint Mother Teresa
“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life forever.” –Amy Poehler, actress
“Surround yourself with a trusted and loyal team. It makes all the difference.” –Alison Pincus, co-founder of One Kings Lane
“A fine glass vase goes from treasure to trash, the moment it is broken. Fortunately, something else happens to you and me. Pick up your pieces. Then, help me gather mine.” –Vera Nazarian, author
“The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side.” –Margaret Carty, executive director of the Maryland Library Association
“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” –Vince Lombardi, NFL coach
“I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else.” –Abby Wambach, soccer player
“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, internet entrepreneur
“Camaraderie doesn’t happen by accident; developing a strong sense of trust, accountability, and togetherness around team goals requires intentional effort.” –Don Yaeger, author

Funny Team Quotes

Not all team building quotes need to be super serious – as the saying goes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Sometimes it is just as important to lighten the mood. After all, we are all human and like to have a bit of fun. These funny team building quotes are on the more lighthearted side and will bring some levity to your team.

“If you take out the team in teamwork, it’s just work. Now who wants that?” –Matthew Stover, novelist
“Teamwork means never having to take all the blame yourself”. –Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist
“You think it’s dumb when someone says there’s no ‘I in team, but you stick one in there and you see how dumb that looks.” –Brendan Kiely, author
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” -Will Rogers, vaudeville performer
“There’s no secret about success. Did you ever know a successful man who didn’t tell you about it?” –Kin Hubbard, cartoonist
“Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake.” –Savielly Tartakower, chess player
“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” –Muhammad Ali, former heavyweight boxing champion
“I will always choose a lazy person to do a hard job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” –Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder
“The road to success is always under construction.” –Lily Tomlin, actress
“Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy – both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.” –Michael Scott, regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company
“Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They’re about to announce the lottery numbers.” –Homer Simpson, safety inspector for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant

Why are Team Building Quotes Important

A good manager is one who can inspire others to achieve great things. Utilizing quotes is an excellent way to reach more people and motivate the team to reach their full potential. The quotes in this list have stood the test of time – some by a few years and others by entire centuries. These team building quotes are rooted in the prolonged success of celebrated individuals, distilling meaningful life lessons into a few carefully organized and impactful words. The benefits of team building include increased communication between members of the organization, which is the cornerstone of an effective team. When you have a committed and engaged team, there is nothing that can stop you from success. A positive work environment leads to prolonged periods of creativity, driving even more forward progress. Team building quotes are a useful tool to remind everyone that, in both the good times and the bad times, everyone is working together to achieve greatness.

Knowing the Right Time to Use these Team Building Quotes

Positive team building quotes are more than just words on a page. The words themselves are a tool for the true goal of building trust and inspiring your team towards success. Team building quotes for work serve to motivate the team, including everyone from the leader of the organization to the newest hire. The great benefit of team building is that there is never too much you can do for your team. Through words and actions, there is never too much motivation that can be provided towards others. Team building quotes are part of an ongoing journey, with different styles and different methods to encourage others. And when looking for both words and actions, Escapely has all the virtual and live team building opportunities you need to truly motivate your team to achieve brand new heights. Let your next team bonding experience be the next step in building trust among your team.