Celebrating
Success
Takeaways
“Imagine a
team winning the World Series without the champagne spraying everywhere. You
just can’t! And yet companies win all the time and let it go without as much as
a high five.” Jack Welch
Celebrating Success
What it Means
Celebrating
is a way to make people feel like winners and create an atmosphere of
recognition and positive energy. It is a reward for hard work and an
opportunity to build and strengthen the team spirit.
Why it Matters
·
Because
winning is a victory and a victory is joyful. When people experience joyful events,
they celebrate—it’s pretty simple, actually.
·
Work
is too much a part of life not to recognize moments of achievement. Grab as many
of these moments as you can as you can. Make a big deal out of them!
·
Celebrating
shows generosity and recognition on the part of the company even if the cost
for the celebration is minimal, the meaning behind the reward had great value.
Action Plan
Celebrating Success
“When you
win, you celebrate. It doesn’t matter if budgets are tight and workloads are heavy.
You have to rejoice in the victories that your team has won.” Jack Welch
Your Starting Point
As you
think about the impact celebrating can have within your organization, ask
yourself:
1.
What
have you done to recognize your team’s achievement in the last six months?
2.
Looking
back on that same time period, were there some wins you could have celebrated
but didn’t?
3.
Why
didn’t you celebrate more?
4.
If
you asked your team whether you celebrate enough, what would they say?
5.
Are
you celebrating in the right ways? Are you rewarding and recognizing people in
ways they appreciate?
6.
Looking
forward, what are some wins that look like they are getting close, what can you
do now to start planning a celebration for those?
Quick Wins
Great
leaders are generous with celebrations, constantly looking for any opportunity
to acknowledge victories. Celebrating doesn’t have to blow the budget, waste
time or take a lot of planning. Celebration can (and often should) be simple.
In fact, it’s probably better to have several smaller celebrations to recognize
wins along the way rather than to save it up for one big celebration.
Keep in mind that makes a good
celebration:
·
The
recognition of the teamwork and the accomplishment itself, can often be as
powerful as the reward.
·
Make
sure the rewards are enjoyable. Take the time to find out what your team
members like and what motivates each one of them. Dinner at a nice restaurant
or tickets to a sporting event or play generally make better choices than plaques
or certificates. The more personal you can make it, the more it shows that you
put some real thought into what would be most appreciated by the recipient.
·
Recognition
and appreciation doesn’t need to be expensive.
·
Remember,
you can also celebrate when things don’t go as planned. If the team gave it
their best shot, that may be worthy of celebration to reinforce a culture that
values learning, getting smarter and taking (appropriate) risks.
·
Don’t
make the celebration with the boss a reward—give your people something they can
use for themselves or with their families.
A Few Celebration Ideas
·
Tickets
to a concert
·
Tickets
to a sporting event
·
Gift
certificate to a restaurant
·
A
wine of the month club subscription
·
A
bottle of fine champagne
·
An
iTunes gift card, or similar musical gift
·
A
spa gift certificate
·
Send
team member and their spouse on a trip
·
Give
team member a weekend hotel stay
·
A
gift card
·
An
iPad or similar tech
·
Flowers,
a gift basket, or edible arrangement
·
Extra
vacation days
·
A
hand-written thank you note
Game Pages
Celebrating Success
Don’t get
caught in the trap of thinking that celebrating isn’t important—it is
tremendously important to motivate and energize your team. It shows that you
recognize the effort your players put in and that their work really matters to
you.