One of the most important thing to do when leading a team is celebrating wins, no matter how small. Positivity is contagious, so a few small victory can turn into a large one down the road.

Look for effort, a shift in behavior or a change for the good. The people you lead know they’ve made a change, it was intentional. Well, most of the time they do. When their leader doesn’t notice, the effort could be fleeting. This means as a leader, deliberate actions must be done to notice this change.

Celebration does not mean a call out in front of everyone, it could be a simple email or even better a hand written note. These celebrations need to be specific, talk about what was noticed or the change. Think about these two examples:

“Hey Jim, great job.”

“Jim, I noticed that you asked a couple more questions to ensure that our client got the right solution. Thank you so much for the extra effort to impact our clients.”

Which one of these would you prefer to get? Which one of these calls out the positive change and reinforces it for the next interaction or opportunity? Change takes effort, so effort is required with every small victory when celebrating it.

Comment below and share the small victory you celebrated or even better, one that someone celebrated with you and how you felt.

Categories: Motivation