I was travelling around St. Patrick’s Day and as I ate dinner and listened to some Irish music, I saw an official T-shirt from Guinness beer that announced the day. It was a stylish T-shirt, however the slogan I was the most enthused about. It was:
Celebrate like you mean it.
I’ve been unable to take that thought out of my head since.
Leaders in organizations often think about celebrations. It’s not exactly what Guinness thought of when he wrote the slogan however, they do consider celebrations. They contemplate the timing, what, and what to do. Sometimes they’re right. But a lot of times they do not.
The importance of celebrations is obvious, however more important is coordinating celebrations in a proper manner.
The four factors that were mentioned earlier (what you’re celebrating, when, and what to do about it) What to celebrate and the best way to celebrate these are the most important to take into consideration. However, let’s start with the fundamentals that explains why we be celebrating in the first in the first place.
Why you should celebrate – Take a look at the underlying purpose
There are at the very least three reasons you should be celebrating at your workplace:
to remember achievements and accomplishments.
to honor people’s achievements and achievements.
to appreciate people.
If you consider these goals, particularly in the context of an organizational setting it is easier to determine when you should celebration.
Before we get specific about this consider the last five occasions you organized or took part in an event, and what the purpose were. Perhaps more important consider the instances in which you didn’t get to have a celebration that, based on the same criteria above that you could have?
When to Celebrate – Take a Look at your motives
Take a look at any book that discusses team development, employee engagement, or project management, and you’ll discover that celebrations are essential. There are plenty of lists of reasons to celebrate which generally include:
Have a celebration with us when you . . .
Attain the goal.
You can reach an achievement.
You can gain a major client.
New products are released.
You can win an award.
It is probably obvious when to be thankful (in part because experts have been reminding us). The majority of organizations have something to celebrate at these kinds of “big achievements.” Yet, if you look at the above-mentioned purpose there are many other occasions you can have a celebration. If you had a celebration at a time when:
Who worked extremely to be ablaze?
People delighted a customer?
The people who work for you lived your values in a unique and significant way?
Who deserves to be thanked?
A milestone has been reached by people even though the project hasn’t been completed as of yet?
Each list could be more extensive – however, you will notice a significant distinction. First, the list talks focused on accomplishment and achievement, while the other is about people. This list of lists is one of the obvious occasions to celebrate. the second list may be more surprising and will be more meaningful to the people being honored.
A successful celebration is when you’re celebrating for the right reasons and the reasons for celebration are clearly understood by all those who are involved with the party.
How to Celebrate – Think About Your Attitude
Have you ever been to a party which didn’t go well? It’s likely that it wasn’t because of the cake, the punch or the surroundings. The main reason parties fail is that people are simply doing their thing.
For example, if the leader is late to arrive and makes a proclamation, and then rushes back to the meeting.
The purpose behind the celebration isn’t entirely clear.
Or , it’s been postponed three times.
These are just a few instances of celebrations being merely ceremonial and without passion. At the end of the day the results are that those “celebrations” hurt engagement, energy and morale more than they benefit.
If you want to enjoy a successful celebration you need to be authentic and honest about the reasons for celebration. You should be kind and grateful for all those involved. Your words must be sincere and you should be present in the moment , sharing with the celebrations of the celebration.
Another article may be written (and I’ll likely write it) about how to conduct the celebration since not all celebrations can be (or ought to be) designed equally.
Whatever you choose to do however the most important factor to a successful celebration is all in the tagline on the T-shirt. If you would like your celebrations to be meaningful, then celebrate them as you’re serious about it.