This blog was originally published on Forbes as Simone Biles’ Words Are As Loud As Her Actions on Sunday, August 14, 2016.
The first commandment in sports is, “There is no ‘I’ in team,” and it was evoked most emphatically by Simone Biles after she won the Gold medal for the women’s individual all-around in the Olympics. Although she is being lauded far and wide for her personal accomplishment, she repeatedly credited her teammates, saying, “we,” during her media sessions following her outstanding performance. The official Olympic website posted her sentiments, “I’m not a celebrity. I’m just Simone Biles, but it’s amazing to be recognized for all of this success for myself and for Team USA.”
Contrast Ms. Bile’s words with those of Donald Trump, who in his nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last month, said, “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it.”
Given the divisive tone of the Republican primary race in which Mr. Trump beat 16 other candidates, and given the tradition that party conventions are a time for closing ranks and unifying, his statement ignited a storm of controversy.
Mr. Trump’s statement also gave his opponent, Hillary Clinton, the opportunity to attack him a week later in her own nomination acceptance speech, “Americans don’t say: ‘I alone can fix it.’ We say: ‘We’ll fix it together.’”
The slogan for the Clinton campaign is “Stronger Together,” the slogan for the Trump campaign is “Make America Great Again.”
Presidential candidates and athletes—as well as anyone competing for or pursuing an important goal—aspire to greatness. As Shakespeare observed, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.”
Whatever path anyone takes to any goal, it’s best done with “we.”
This blog was originally published on Forbes as Simone Biles’ Words Are As Loud As Her Actions on Sunday, August 14, 2016.