Marc Estes

Most of us work in a fairly fast paced, complex world. It seems that there is always another mountain to take, river to cross, giant to kill, and responsibility to fulfill. As we power through our long list of ‘to do’ items and file last weeks project action plans, it is important to stop and celebrate the wins with those who work with you and for you. There is one thing for sure, we don’t celebrate our accomplishments enough!

If you are going to celebrate what you have accomplished there might be a few things you might considering doing:

1. Take the time to reflect – At the end of every week, or the end of every project, stop and ponder what you have just done. Look at where you have been and where you have now arrived and appreciate the accomplishments you have made.

 

2. Make the Win Definable – Develop a one-liner, or something that is easy for every one on the team to grasp.  We understand this in the world of sports; a goal is a win in soccer, a touchdown is a win in football and a strike is a win in bowling (did I just use bowling as an illustration? Wow!) When everyone understood what a win looks like and then you accomplish it as a team, everyone can see that the team won. Define it!

 

3. Make everyone a part of the Win- Tennis and Golf are lonely sports. They may be fun to watch, but nothing like when a team wins the world series and dog-pile in the middle of the field. Spectators make the best critics. If you really want to create some momentum with those you serve, let them own the win as well.

 

4. Look for ways to win regularly- The greatest factor to momentum is being acknowledged and appreciated regularly. One win a year is not enough. Look for ways to celebrate weekly accomplishments by sending out an email, twitter or Facebook comment. Talk about people in your weekly staff meeting. Look for ways to win regularly.

 

5. Don’t beat anyone up when you lose – Losing is a part of the game, and when we do, we learn from the disappointment and ultimately look at the loss as win as well. Babe Ruth was one of the greatest striker-outers of all time, yet he is known for getting up to the plate, pointing towards the fence and scoring the win. Next time you don’t quite reach the goal, gather those around you, share what you learned through the loss, point at the fence, and hit it out of the park!