I just want to CELEBRATE! How Do I Know When to Celebrate?
All of us want to celebrate successes, wins for our team or organization. How do we know when we should celebrate? We must measure or track to our goals to truly have something to celebrate. What if we host a huge celebration mid-year and then do not hit the end of year goals?
We must be intentional about goal setting and include others in the discussion. Our question is “What does success look like for us?”
Then we must ask, “How do we measure achievement of success?” If we do not measure or do not measure the right thing in the right way, how will we know if we are successful? The result will be a surprise and we do not want surprises. We want planned success.
First: You must know where you want to go before you can determine if you arrived. So, we first determine what would be a success for us (What are our goals?). The goals are SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound). Once goals are determined, we must transparently communicate these goals and the “why” for the goal.
Second: Determine short term measures that predict success for the goals. These short-term measures are at 45-,60- or 90-day intervals. Now, if you are making progress and think you are on target to hit the goal, it is time to celebrate! Use the 45-, 60-, 90-day measures to determine if it is time to celebrate.
Take time and be intentional in celebrating these short-term WINS that support the team in meeting the longer-term goals set. You might showcase members of the team who were most responsible for the positive trend toward goal and success. Celebrate the work of the entire team and the efforts of the team. These celebrations incentive all of us to do more.
What WINS has your team achieved? How and when will you celebrate with them?
