I happen to be in Indiana this week, just outside of Indianapolis, and sure enough last night as expected featured a whole lot of fireworks and celebration, as my American friends celebrated their independence.
Why do we celebrate, and why is it important? We celebrate accomplishment and achievement, and it is important because it allows us to acknowledge something is complete and that we are on the “other side.” Celebration is critical, and too often in business we can tend to focus on what we haven’t done and we don’t always take the time to honor and celebrate our people and give them the time and space they need to celebrate.
Regular celebration should be embedded as part of our corporate rhythms. We need to create time and space to acknowledge and celebrate our team members achievements. Celebration can be tied to various levels of achievement measured against the goals. Specifically, let’s imagine that we start a particular quarterly goal for growth or some other Key Performance Indicator (KPI). The accompanying celebration should match the level of success in achieving that goal. If the celebration is a BBQ, the matching celebration may be hot dogs for lunch, if we achieve 75%. If we achieve 90%, the celebration could be a chicken and rib BBQ, but if we achieve 100%, it’s steak and lobster.
How do you celebrate success with your teams? If we are not careful, we can focus too much on financial reward, which although appreciated, is not the only way to celebrate. People respond well to financial remuneration, but acknowledgement of other types such as group celebration and other kinds of rewards also work well.
Cameron’s Call to Action
- Do you have some concrete plans to celebrate success between now and the end of the year? If not, make sure you are clear first on your measurable goals and performance indicators.
- Be absolutely sure that everyone understands the measurable goals and targets, and that they fully understand their respective roles in achieving them.
- Develop a theme for celebration and how and when you will celebrate according to the level of success in achieving.
- Continually remind people of the targets and how they will be celebrated corporately – then follow through.