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Motivation Quote by Tony Dungy

"I guess I'm flattered that people think I can help get things done"

About this Quote

Dungy’s line lands with the quiet force of someone who knows how quickly “leadership” turns into a projection screen. “I guess I’m flattered” is doing double duty: it accepts the compliment while gently lowering the temperature. He’s not thundering about purpose or destiny; he’s sidestepping the cult of the coach-as-savior that American sports culture loves to manufacture the moment a public figure gains credibility.

The subtext is accountability management. When people say you can “help get things done,” they’re also volunteering you for a job you didn’t apply for: fixer, mediator, moral authority, political validator. Dungy’s phrasing keeps agency with the collective rather than the individual. “People think” signals distance from the narrative; “I can help” is deliberately modest, framing impact as support work, not command. Even “get things done” is vague in a way that’s strategic: it acknowledges urgency without committing to any specific agenda that could be weaponized later.

Context matters because Dungy isn’t just any coach. As a Super Bowl-winning leader with a reputation for calm, faith-tinged discipline, he’s often treated as a credible voice beyond football. That credibility is precisely what he’s interrogating here. The line reads like a soft refusal to become a symbol on demand, paired with an awareness that influence is real but finite. It’s humility, yes, but also boundary-setting: an insistence that progress is a team sport, even off the field.

Quote Details

TopicLeadership
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Dungy, Tony. (2026, January 15). I guess I'm flattered that people think I can help get things done. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-guess-im-flattered-that-people-think-i-can-help-163478/

Chicago Style
Dungy, Tony. "I guess I'm flattered that people think I can help get things done." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-guess-im-flattered-that-people-think-i-can-help-163478/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I guess I'm flattered that people think I can help get things done." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-guess-im-flattered-that-people-think-i-can-help-163478/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.

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Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy (born October 6, 1955) is a Coach from USA.

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