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CELEBRATING SMALL WINS GOES A BIG WAY
What does it mean to succeed? Contrary to popular belief, to succeed is not to finally reach that big, shiny goal up in the heavens. To succeed is to pave the way with small successes. We often place too much emphasis and attention on the end goal, that we often neglect the ones along the way.
If your willpower is so strong as you focus on the end goal that no matter how arduous the journey is, you are able to hang on and finally achieve what you set out for, great! For the most of us however, we need more than mere willpower. Sometimes it gets so tough that we lose sight of the goal altogether. So how do we ensure that we are able to keep on the path (and not believe there is only a ‘right’ path as there will surely be a lot of wrong ones that we stumble on) and attain that goal?
To put this in the workplace context, imagine your company going through a particularly rough time. Economy is bad, the morale is low, the coffee machine is spoilt. Instead of brooding over the darkening skies, look out for the small rays of sunlight fighting to shine through. Maybe the recently closed deals are not of ideal figures, but a deal is a deal still. You might think that it is unnecessary cost or too time consuming to gather your team to celebrate these little wins, but never underestimate their power. Acknowledging and recognising these achievements is what drives your employees to keep going and achieve greater things. Especially in tough times, this can send a powerful message that you trust your employees to be able to turn things around.
- Create a ‘Little Wins’ board at the office. Encourage your employees to write down their day-to-day small successes. This can help to elevate or maintain a high employee morale.
- Share inspirational quotes such as this, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” by none other than Thomas Edison, which nicely sums up the importance of having the right mindset and attitude towards failure.
- Don’t delay the party. It is crucial that the employees see the connection between the celebration and the cause for celebration. You might want to bring everyone out to a nice dinner, but if finding the right time and venue is too much of a hassle, then just order in pizza for lunch, where most people are already present.
- Happiness shared could only be multiplied. Even if the success rightly stems from one person, share it with the whole team. This amplifies the success and creates camaraderie among employees, which creates a culture where one’s success is everyone’s success.
- Change your perspective. For example, if you’re not making much profit, you can look at it as ‘at least you’re not making a loss’.
