Celebration is a motivational fertilizer.
Of the many forms of praise, including compliment, recognition, and approval, none is as energizing or motivational as celebration. Celebration of any sort or size suggests an accomplishment worthy of larger acknowledgment. It is praise with an exclamation point!
Celebration tells others to sit up and take notice of what has been achieved. More importantly, it sends a clear and unequivocal message that others who achieve something comparable will be similarly applauded. People are likely to replicate or repeat what they have been praised for, but they will work even harder to achieve an outcome worthy of celebration.
The power of celebration is often overlooked by leaders who fail to see what it represents. It is not the event or trappings of the celebration, nor the positive experience that creates its impact. Celebration is symbolic. It brings people together in a collaborative spirit of connectedness.
Best of all, it creates a sense of belonging. Through celebration, team members come to identify as part of a distinct group of dedicated colleagues focused on the same outcomes and goals. Celebration binds people together in a way almost nothing else can. It is a team glue.
Leaders who understand the power of celebration aren’t reluctant to use it. They don’t wait for completion or victory to celebrate. They hold up milestones and steps along the way with experiences that recognize progress and celebrate the hard work and people who make it happen.
They understand that celebration energizes people and floods them with positive emotions. Good leaders promote this positive energy with commemoration proportional to the accomplishment. In so doing, they work to foster emotional well-being for the team.
With a tool this influential, why would a leader refrain from praising the team with an appropriate observance? The fear that celebrated team members will slack off or presume success before the work is complete is unfounded. Team morale gets a boost whenever big or small milestones and accomplishments are recognized through celebration.
There is simply no reason not to celebrate loudly and more often when good things happen. Work is richer and fuller when people get the chance to celebrate together. The best leaders quickly learn that the more they celebrate, the more accomplishments there are to honor. Funny how that works.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
