Week 14 and it’s my favourite day of the year… my birthday 🎂 Apart from all the love, birthday presents and a day off from work (not free and not certain), what a great day of the year.
Firstly, I should start off by reflecting on the past (no I am not 100 years old, although if age was calculated by the number of birthday celebrations I have had, then I would not be far off 😂), and most of my family must still shiver when they cut a birthday cake… yes, I did celebrate my birthday with a cake, but I also spoiled (supposedly) other people’s birthdays by cutting a separate cake next to them. 📸
Here is my birthday breakfast this morning – thanks chef Baljit! 👩🏽🍳
On reflection it’s good to celebrate, but maybe this was not the right time to do this – you will be pleased to know that I do not do this now (I have stopped being invited yearly 😝). The positives though were lots of cake (I ❤️ you black forest gateau), more presents, and the chance to wear my bow tie (got to get in ALL the family photos). Thanks to my mum for this opportunity (you are too kind 🤗).
The theme for this week is celebrating success, so while I am celebrating my birthday with lots of presents (hiding them in my wardrobe is not the ideal location Baljit – especially based on my past behaviour 🎁), it’s a theme which is essential to the running of a successful team.
Celebrating anything helps us/well me to feel loved, appreciated and it makes me happy – growing up and even now, whenever we have any good news, we celebrate… whether it be my talented wife cooking up 5* restaurant quality food or even my mum spoiling us rotten as children with a celebration fit for a king. 👑
My nan (bless her), who sadly is not with us anymore 😢, taught us the importance of celebration and celebrating our family’s success. We were lavished with presents, awesome food, and cake, lots of knitted jumpers (my Rafael turtle one was my favourite), and it certainly helped us all to be the people we are today; and it is why my birthday means so much to me. Even in my grandparent’s older years they sent a handwritten card in the post and kept all celebration events on their calendar in their bedroom. 📆
Great leaders have a similarity to the above, they not only celebrate work, but also reflect when things do not go as expected. Far too often in the workplace I have seen things going well for some time, with no positive feedback, no celebration… a bit like going to Villa Park on a non-match day (I had to add one football reference ⚽️). Though when there is an issue it becomes chaotic. So, celebrating success adds a much-needed balance in what I would describe as a fast-paced rollercoaster journey. 🎢
Some stats…
🔵 79% of US employees who leave their job do so as they feel under appreciated.
🔵 65% of employees say they have had no recognition in the last year.
🔵 78% say they would work harder if given more recognition.
Why should we celebrate more in the workplace?
Human beings are social beings – celebration is a key aspect of social bonding. It is one way we identify belonging to a group or culture. My view is that if you’re striving for loyal employees and a strong work culture, it’s time to 🆙 your celebration game.
Celebrating success stimulates feelings of inclusion, innovation, appreciation, and collaboration in the brain, which paves the way for creative thinking, calmer work environments, increased focus, and resilience to stress.
5 key wins from celebrating success more
⬆️ Motivation
⬆️ Productivity
⬆️ Loyalty
⬆️ Morale
⬆️ Team bonding
Here are some scenarios in which you may want to celebrate an employee
- When it is their first win – relevant for new hires, taking on new responsibilities or challenges.
- When it has made a difference to someone else e.g., when someone takes on another person’s workload so they can go on holiday.
- When their actions align with company values.
- When their work is truly exceptional.
- When their work has been consistently good.
How to have recognition chats with others
This conversation is essential and the way it is structured is key – I have had conversations from my leaders in the past and it has come across as sarcastic; was a mix of positives and negatives – ultimately it was not recognition, though it should have been.
Break the chat into:
- Action – what positive thing did they do?
- Impact – what was the impact and how does it relate to the reward?
- Reward – how are they being rewarded?
How to signify a reward and celebrate
These are just some examples that I have implemented and have seen – you can create others:
🎉🎉 Handwritten note or card – great for introverts.
🎉🎉 Company email of gratitude.
🎉🎉 Small gifts e.g. chocolates
🎉🎉 Extra days holiday.
🎉🎉 Awards in a ceremony.
Meerkats also love to celebrate, there is evidence that they have a sweet tooth (who could blame them 🍬).
So that’s all for this week, and thank you for your great support, and message/comments. Please do share the blogs with others as I want to help as many people as possible.
Embedding empathy and appreciation into your culture will create a great place to work and the work output will reflect this. Have an awesome weekend! ✌🏾