Michael Phelps' Olympic Triumph
A victory in the 400-meter medley relay marked Michael Phelps' eighth gold medal in the Beijing Olympic games. The record-breaking feat made Phelps the single greatest Olympian in history. As he celebrated the triumph with his teammates, Phelps could be heard uttering the same phrase over and over again: "I couldn't have done it without you guys."
Phelps wasn't merely giving lip service to teamwork. If not for the superhuman efforts of a teammate, his historic quest for eight gold medals would have come to a premature end.
An Amazing Comeback
In the 400-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead leg. Although he put the Americans in front, they were overtaken by the French and trailed considerably as the final swimmers dove into the pool. John Lezak, the oldest man on the American swim team, desperately tried to catch up. Despite his efforts, halfway into his anchor leg Lezak was almost a body-length behind France's Alain Bernard. Just as the television announcers were writing off the Americans, Lezak found another gear. During what seemed like an eternity, he inched closer and closer to the French lead. As they approached the finish line, both swimmers lunged for the wall. Lezak touched it first by a fingernail - one-one hundredth of a second - and the Americans won the gold.
Michael Phelps' accomplishments in Beijing garnered him the individual record of eight gold medals in a single Olympics. However, he never could have achieved the historic mark without the contributions of his teammates.
The leadership lesson in his story is simple: No matter how much talent you have, teammates can take you farther than you can go by yourself.
