#11 Celebration

The Celebration

As managers, you should take opportunities and to celebrate employee achievements. Show them their efforts are noticed. Great leaders and teams know how to create an environment where team mates can easily recognize and celebrate each other’s success.

Great Teams celebrate early

The rule for work recognition is that the earlier the better. Being manager, you should always know what is going on in your team. If your employees do something great, as a leader you should be the first to notice and the first to congratulate them. Come to them as soon as you can, for a handshake or a high-five. An official congratulation or a bonus can come later but there is no reason why you should wait to say heartfelt thanks to an employee for his or her hard work.

Celebrate publicly

A public recognition is way more powerful than a private one. A compliment in public is far better at boosting one’s esteem than the same one sent via an email or even 1-on-1. A celebration only feels like a real one with a crowd and some level of noise. Think to the effect of loud fireworks. It works as well when you have a Wall of Fame with photos of your team of achievers. You can also get a buzzer to hit when someone achieves something. As manager, you could hold weekly meeting (e.g.15 minutes of heroism) to make success acknowledgement official and public.

Celebrate with a gift

A high-five or a handwritten thank-you note is great but more is in order in many cases. Rewards and hard work should go together. Depending on the level of achievement, a certain tangible form of rewards is due. Think Nobel Prizes, the Pulitzer Prizes, the Oscars and many other awards.

It is so important to reward your employees, so you should do learn to do it appropriately. It would be even better if you can do it in a creative and authentic way.

Rewards can come in all shapes and sizes, and can involve cash or non-monetary rewards. Traditional rewards often include a promotion, monetary bonus or a pay rise. Of course, most would be happy and motivated with a bigger paycheck. However, there are some rewards that can be just as effective or even more impactful and cost the company far less.

To name a few ideas:

A day-off pass to use for extra time off or flexible hours

A nice, long lunch to celebrate the achievement together

A great loud, concerted teambuilding celebration event

A voucher from a fine diner in town

A massage gift card

We hope you found this e-book helpful. Hopefully you now have a much better understanding of how to build great teams!

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