What Is the Secret to Success?

On the heels of a big Super Bowl championship win and celebratory parade, Coach Nick Sirianni shared some wise words that helped lead his team, the Philadelphia Eagles, to success and the coveted Lombardi Trophy. Listening to his words, we heard many of the tenets from the science of positive psychology that he appeared to integrate into his leadership role and coaching style.

The key motto that he has repeatedly emphasized is "you can't be great without the greatness of others." This notion of interdependence is a hallmark of positive psychology and what leads to well-being and thriving relationships.

While there are stand-out stars on the team, the way Sirianni seemed to operate—as well as all the individual players—is through collaboration, rather than personal competition among themselves.

As a strong and effective leader, Sirianni believed in his team, had their backs, and created a nurturing environment. He planted seeds and patiently watched them grow. Facilitating rather than forcing their development on a regular basis. Hard work paid off. He encouraged his team to work together toward common goals. Sirianni set the tone from the top on down.

Some of the key VIA character strengths and concepts from the field of positive psychology that were prominently displayed in his leadership role are as follows:

“Iron Sharpens Iron”—The Power of Teamwork

Defined as "representing a feeling of identification with and sense of obligation to a common good that includes the self but that stretches beyond one's own self-interest," teamwork is essential to successful football games.

As psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman describe in Character Strengths and Virtues, an individual with the strength of teamwork has “a strong sense of duty, works for the good of the group rather than for personal gain, is loyal to friends, and can be trusted to pull his or her weight. He or she is a good teammate.”

Teamwork was clearly vital to the Eagles' Super Bowl success. The players were more focused on collaboration rather than personal competition. In fact, leading up to the Super Bowl, superstar running back Saquon Barkley prioritized the good of the team over his personal record by sitting out the last game of the regular season.

“This is the best team sport there is and you need the efforts of everybody. And it took everybody,” remarked Sirianni.

Sirianni spends time with each player before the season to review their strengths and their unique role within the team. “Iron sharpens iron," he tells all the coaches and players.

“If a team is going to have success, it’s going to take more than 22 guys. It’s going to take everyone on the roster... It takes selflessness.”

After the big win, Sirianni acknowledged the greatness of MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts. “He knows how to win,” he said. However, Sirianni also noted that Jalen can’t do it by himself. That he needs his teammates. And his teammates need him. “He needs AJ ( Eagles wide receiver). He needs that offensive line. He needs Saquon. And vice versa.”

Perseverance and Grit

"You can’t win if you quit,” Hurts remarked after the win.

Being gritty and persevering despite a tough start to the season was a characteristic of the Eagles. They never gave up.

“We saw this team embrace adversity throughout the entire year. The ups and downs of the season, getting better from the things we went through. We learned from our mistakes. We stuck to our process,” said Sirianni.

University of Pennsylvania professor Angela Duckworth defines grit as “passion and perseverance for long-term goals." Duckworth has advised NFL teams on the concept of grit and describes it as a “goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do.”

She says it's unwavering effort to that goal no matter what. “Even when you fall down. Even when you screw up. Even when progress toward that goal is halting or slow.”

Reflecting on their 2-2 start to the season, Sirianni says, “Just because the outside world tells you to feel a certain way it doesn’t mean that we were feeling that way. We knew we had a special team. We knew we had a group of guys that could do some special things. But it was going to take day in and day out work.”

“We stayed locked in and blocked out other people’s comments. It is the key to becoming a Super Bowl Champion.”

Gratitude

Gratitude is one of the five top VIA character strengths associated with well-being. Defined as “an affirmation of the good and a recognition that the good originates outside the self,” it is a key factor to thriving relationships.

Researcher Robert Emmons, who has studied gratitude for decades, found that grateful people achieve more, get along better with others, and are more resilient.

It’s not surprising then to understand the success of Sirianni given his grateful spirit. Throughout the past week we all witnessed him acknowledging and expressing his thanks to others—from God, to the players, coaches, fans, and to the entire Eagles franchise.

Shortly after the Super Bowl win, Sirianni took a moment and looked into the sky and said, “thank you.” When asked by a reporter about his action he responded, “Glory to God… He blessed our team with talents. Blessed myself with the talent to coach football.”

Sirianni also expressed his gratitude to all the players and to everyone who developed him as a coach. And he thanked the fans too.

“We knew we had special players, we knew we had special coaches, we knew we had a special front office and special people in the building. And our goal was to do it together and just stick together and go.”

This is the ultimate team game, he said. “And again, I’ve said it a million times tonight and I’ll keep saying that: You can’t be great without the greatness of others. That applies to our fans as well.”

“We have such great fans... And that is a big reason why we are here: the energy that our crowd gives us, and our fans give us. A lot of Eagles fans out there. We’re so appreciative of you guys and how you contribute to this.”

In sum, while there may not be a simple secret to success, we can take a cue from Coach Sirianni by practicing the strengths of teamwork, grit, and gratitude in our daily lives.

Collaborating, not competing with others; never giving up; and thanking everyone who has helped us are a few science-based ways to aid us in achieving our goals.

In the words of Sirianni, it’s important to remain committed to “the daily grind of emptying the tank every single week to try to win.” While it may not be glamorous, it’s taking one step at a time that helps us improve. “It’s boring but it’s truly just trying to get a little better each day.”

Like Sirianni, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of acknowledging the unique contribution of everyone in our life who helps us along the way.

After all, to quote a Super Bowl champion, “We can’t be great without the greatness of others.”