Celebrate good times, come on! Sometimes we are so laser-focused on working towards our goals and milestones, that once we reach them, we forget to take a moment to revel in the victory. Instead, we often jump straight into working towards the next goal. It is important to take time out of your busy schedule to acknowledge and celebrate your many accomplishments.
When you jump from one goal to the next, it diminishes the importance of what you have just achieved and leaves you with a high probability of burning out. Taking a brief moment to feel excited about an accomplishment will give you the drive and motivation you need to achieve more goals, and can greatly improve not only your success but the success of your team.
Think of two of your most recent “wins,” and how you celebrated them. Now, rate your celebration from 1-10 (10 being best). If your celebration was on the higher end of the scale, note if taking time to praise yourself made you feel even more motivated to do your best work. If you rated your celebration lower on the scale, why didn’t you celebrate these accomplishments? Is the notion of reaching your goals enough to give you the morale boost you need to continue making great strides towards your next goal?
If you don’t make time to celebrate your wins, you may find yourself lacking energy and in a perpetual cycle of daunting tasks and to-do lists. Even professional athletes take a minute to do a celebratory dance when they score for their team. In our reward-oriented culture, celebrating the fruits of your labor will incentivize you and your team to continue to do their best work day in and day out.
How do I start regularly celebrating my wins? Start by celebrating wins (both big and small) daily. If you had a particularly productive morning, reward yourself by taking a break in the afternoon to grab a beverage from your favorite coffee shop. If you made it to the gym, reward yourself with an extra hour of TV time. Closed the deal on a big sale? Consider taking the rest of the day off to spend more time with your family or treat yourself to your favorite restaurant. Positive reinforcement will help you stay productive and diligent on your daily goals.
How do I start regularly celebrating my team’s wins? If you want more of a certain behavior out of your team, you need to acknowledge it. Ignoring the wins of your team will cause you to miss the vital opportunity to not only inspire your team but to strengthen your own leadership in the process. A lack of celebrating a job well done can be interpreted as a lack of success, which could leave your team feeling demotivated and discouraged (and could even cost you some of your best team members).
Start celebrating wins with your team by simply saying, “thank you.” A personalized email or hand-written note can go a long way in making your team members feel appreciated and noticed. Treat your team to lunch after completing a milestone, by catering in a local favorite or take your team out-to-eat to get away from the office. Give someone who has worked long hours to finish a large project the day off. Consider creating an incentive program where you give a top performer an office trophy and gift card each week for their hard work. These simple ways of celebrating wins with your team will help them feel noticed and motivated to continue their goal-breaking behavior. It will also remind everyone why it is great to be a part of your company and will foster a positive atmosphere in your workplace.
Life goes by too fast to not acknowledge all the good things yourself and others have accomplished. Be a magnet for success by celebrating wins, and using those celebrations to continually motivate yourself and your team to do their very best. What (and HOW) will you celebrate today?
I am excited to announce that I have been globally recognized as the Global Executive Coach of the Year! I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank all my wonderful clients who have helped me get this title. I celebrated by taking my daughter Katie to Scotland with me for the conference and spent some time traveling the country for a few extra days. Katie will be off to Iowa State University this year to study engineering, another exciting reason to celebrate!
Time flies – enjoy and celebrate!