The 2 most powerful words as leader: "Great job!"

How celebrating success builds momentum in teams, and how you do it authentically.

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Before we dive in, I need to address the elephant in the room.

It's Wednesday, and I'm late.

I've been dealing with an IT nightmare over the past 5 days, being locked out of virtually all my research notes, docs, email, and calendars. I've learned a painful lesson on platform risk, and am figuring out how to never let this happen again.

I hope you'll let me get away with it.

In today's issue, we're talking about winning.

"Great job" are two of the most powerful words you can say as a leader.

If you want to be a great leader, you should identify, recognize and reward team efforts and achievements to build momentum.

Momentum is a powerful force to motivate and engage your team. Whether you're looking to boost performance, increase collaboration, or just keep your team moving in the right direction, momentum is your best friend.

Unfortunately, we're often too focused on the negative, and positive news is taken for granted. Celebrations, if done at all, feel forced and eams see right through your inauthentic efforts.

But building momentum in a team can be done in an honest and exciting way.

Here's how you do it:

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Call it winning

Everyone likes to win. It's contagious, addictive, and motivates like nothing else.

The best part?

It works even better in a team.

Those motivated most by a win will take everyone along in their enthusiasm.

Winning:

  • Builds a sense of progress

  • Creates a sense of meaning

  • Makes tough times feel worth it

  • Unites people & creates positive energy

So next time there's something worth celebrating, frame it as winning - not as doing your job.

What you celebrate matters

What you celebrate signals to your team and organization what matters. That’s why you celebrate different things, not just obvious milestones or goals. 

Start with these 5:

  • First contributions

    • A quick win gets a new team member going. It helps them feel recognized, builds confidence, and establishes internal credibility.

  • Team players

    • If you make a habit of celebrating individual contributions that helped others succeed, you remind the team that their actions have an impact and that their work is valued. 

  • Company values

    • If team members live up to team values, they are reinforcing the culture within your team. Team culture is the glue that holds people together, reinforcing this should be on your radar daily.

  • Consistent good work

    •  Not every completed task is a major milestone, but consistency adds up. In any team, there are people in the background doing the less glamorous work that keep the wheels turning. By shining a spotlight on your unsung heroes, you show that their contribution matters just as much. 

  • Milestones & deliverables

    • This is the one you’ll think of when talking about celebrating success. When your team hits a major milestone, delivers something to a customer, or achieves something significant, take the opportunity and celebrate it.

How you celebrate matters even more

The two most powerful words as a leader are “Great job!”.

Expressing your gratitude is key, but how you do it is even more important.

Use details of the action to show that you’ve understood the importance of it. Find a balance between praising the effort and the benefit. By shining a light on the work that went into the result you’re celebrating, you make sure your team doesn’t lose track of the process.

The actual celebration or reward can come in many different forms.

Here are 6 ways to get you going:

  • Private conversation

    • When you do this, make sure you schedule this so it doesn’t get mixed with other ongoing work. This works great for people who don’t like to be singled out - the unsung heroes that keep the wheels spinning.

  • A hand-written note or card

    • This sounds old-school, but a thank-you email is archived and forgotten. A simple card or note may linger on a desk for weeks, or end up on a wall or in a drawer and have a lasting effect. People will appreciate the extra effort!

  • An actual gift or bonus

    • This is obvious, but not my go-to. You’re trying to build momentum and intrinsic motivation, and these rewards shift the narrative to extrinsic motivation. That said, they still have their place, but use them with care.

  • Spotlight in a regular meeting

    • Your daily standup is a great place for a quick celebration, whether it’s for 1 person or for the whole team. Start your meeting with a win, and watch the momentum shift. Top tip: surprise pastries will never go out of fashion.

  • A personal email or video note from a senior leader

    • Instead of saying “Great job!” Yourself, have your sponsor do it. You’ll be amazed by how much bigger the effect is on people. If you want to make it easy, send your sponsor a note for them to use with some details. If you really want to stand out, have them call or send a quick video note.

  • A company-wide announcement

    • Shining a light on your team’s achievement within the entire company is an easy but powerful thing to do. In your next all-hands meeting, have a major milestone or achievement mentioned. You can also send an email, put it on your intranet, or get creative. 

  • A special event

    • Just like private gift-giving, experiences beat stuff. Take your team for dinner, have drinks on Friday, or do something crazy. For projects with a bigger budget, the costs are marginal but the impact is huge. Make sure to plan it far in advance, because the apprehension is half the fun.

Matching effort/reward is key here. Don’t take your team to Disney World for fixing a bug in time, and don’t whisper “thanks” for delivering a major client project ahead of schedule.

In conclusion

I hope you'll agree that celebrating success should be high on your priority list as a project leader. It's too easy to skip over it, and only focus on what did not go well. Instead, take the opportunities and build positive momentum in your team.

  • Winning bonds

  • Momentum compounds

  • Everybody loves recognition

And putting a smile on people's faces is the most rewarding thing you'll do all day.

However you do it, make sure it fits in your team culture and that the celebration matches the reason to celebrate. If you hit those and catch some people by surprise, it will come across as authentic and genuine.

Now go out and have fun with it, and let me know how it goes. I love reading replies from readers sharing their success stories or bringing up something they'd like to learn more about it. I read them all myself, and always reply!

That'll do for this week - until next Tuesday!

(I promise. Tuesday!)

Cheers,Jasper