I’ve read several books by Tony Dungy. Love them all. This book was no exception. Valuable insight, and very helpful. I highly recommend this book.

Live with SOUL:
Selflessness
Own Your Role
Unity
Larger Purpose.

That is the theme of this book. Rather than spend 250 pages trying to explain how this SOUL thing is supposed to work, Tony tells the story of a fictional football team that was at its wit's end and falling apart and through his help embraced SOUL and made a complete turnaround. It was a very interesting read and was so much more fun than spending those same number of pages trying to grasp an elusive concept. Seeing the concept put into action through the pages of a story made it much more realistic and attainable.

No, I don't play football, but the SOUL concept can apply to any area of life. I can use it as a stay-at-home mom with littles. In fact, I need it, because I don't always want to be selfless and put my children first. I'm not always eager to own my role when it includes doing things I don't like doing, when it includes the behind-the-scenes things that no one ever sees. How much fun is that? But if I can do with my husband, as a unified team, and for a larger purpose, it makes it so much easier.

What is your larger purpose? For the fictional football team, it was reaching out into the community and trying to make a difference both on and off the field, making football games attainable for those who wouldn't otherwise be able to attend. For me, as a mom, I think of it as remembering that I am raising adults. It's focusing on showing them Jesus, on showing them what it means to be part of a community, of reaching out and helping others. But first, I have to have that larger purpose for myself as well.

I really enjoyed this book and I think it has some powerful takeaways for every person, whether you are the lowest person on the totem pole or the CEO of a billion dollar company, whether you are a student in school, a mom in the trenches or a dad with a home business, we all need SOUL.

I received this book from Tyndale Publishers via NetGalley and was not required to write a positive review.

I would hope most don't pass this book by Tony Dungy over because they think he is only talking about Team as in a Sports Team. Tony does another amazing job at teaching the principles of S.O.U.L that apply to all arenas we find ourselves and the struggles that come to them.

Title: The Soul of a Team
Author: Tony Dungy

This book was about: Tony Dungy tells a story about how a made up football team had an “ok” season but couldn’t quite make it over the hump. Dungy describes how his character would go into a team and help the coaches and players work together to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. This book tells of some of the most common issues that affect teams and what holds them back. The Soul of a Team shows you how to focus on creating a stronger, healthier and more productive team that is destined for success.

I loved: I love how easy this book was to read. Because he writes it as a fable/story, you can really make your way through a majority of the book quickly.

Reading this book made me wonder about: It made me wonder why more teams (football, or otherwise) don’t apply more of these techniques. A positive team supporting each other is probably considered foundational but not always put into practice.

Overall this book was: Excellent and I would recommend it to other leaders.

I give this book: 4 out of 5 stars.

The publisher gave me a copy of the book via net galley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review.