I posted a big milestone last night that I had reached with my blog. I haven’t always been really good at celebrating my own wins. I downplayed them in the past as just being part of my job. I have learned that it is a good thing to take a moment and celebrate the wins…no matter how big they are. It helps to provide the perspective of what you have accomplished along the journey of your career.
However, when it comes to celebrating my team, I have always found that to be so important. They are the ones that have moved heaven and earth to deliver large global programs. They have stayed up countless hours and solved so many problems to make those implementations happen. Working so hard on these projects brings everyone together to deliver that common vision. I have always been so grateful to the teams that I have had and what we have accomplished together.
There are many ways to celebrate as a team. As part of our corporate culture, we gave financial awards to people based on their contributions when we worked on big projects. However, many times it is the smallest type of awards that mean the most to people. Saying “Thank You” or writing a note of thanks can mean a lot. It can be a paper award that says they delivered great customer service or that they won some award that we literally made up just for them. My team created one for me as well. For being the biggest risk taker in the group…they created an award called the “Run with the Bulls” award. It is one of the awards that I remember so much more because of the thought they put into it. Those type of awards don’t really cost very much but mean so much more to people.
At the end of the day, it is about showing that you appreciate them. It is important that they are recognized for the time that they spent delivering something important for your organization. It may be working over a holiday weekend, delivering a big project or going above and beyond for a customer. Keeping a team engaged is about celebrating what they have done and appreciating them for it.
Sharing these types of experiences are a part of what is happening in the Creating Leadership Connections Facebook Group. If you haven’t joined yet, just click on the link to become a part of the group! If you know someone else who would be good for the group, please feel free to invite them to join too!
