Last week we talked about celebrating your small wins and building a successful life and career one win at a time. Celebrating success in a company, large or small, is equally important.

Celebrating both company and individual victories does not just create a positive “vibe.”  It also helps workers see themselves as effective and part of a winning team.

This mindset fosters a more “Can Do” attitude and daring response to challenges than if employees see themselves as “Basic” and part of a hapless, stressed team. 

Furthermore, when wading through a steady stream of negative news, it is easy to see oneself as a victim of circumstance. You offset the doom and gloom by consciously calling attention to accomplishments and successes with genuine positivity.

And not a fake Pollyanna positivity. You will have evidence to fall back on in the form of notes to yourself or notes of acknowledgment you have sent and received to and from coworkers and clients. 

By sharing stories of employees doing remarkable things, you also strengthen the belief that you are a team of winners who can accomplish important things. Because emotions affect perception, shifting your workforce’s ambient, emotional state to a more upbeat, hopeful one means employees are more apt to look at challenges as something they can overcome rather than insurmountable obstacles.  

One quick and easy strategy to capture the progress wins is to start every meeting with a Celebrate Success moment. At the beginning of the meeting, go around and give everyone 30 to 60 seconds to say what area of progress they are proudest, happiest, or most excited about in any part of their life. 

Most people come into a meeting not “present.” They are focused on their last conversation, the last email they read, or the traffic that almost made them late. Maybe they are joining remotely and not physically present at all. By starting with the Celebrate Success tool, you will get everyone mentally in the room.  

If employees’ daily experience is one of frustration and failure, they bring that mindset and emotional state to everything they do – including their response to changes you ask them to make.

At the most fundamental, biological level, repeated failure creates the biochemistry of helplessness and hopelessness in the name of the stress chemical Cortisol. In contrast, repeatedly making progress towards goals and feeling a sense of proficiency triggers the biochemicals of happiness and satisfaction, including the “motivation and reward” chemical Dopamine.

Whatever issues we need to deal with, they are always better handled from a positive and confident frame of mind. Creativity thrives in a safe, positive atmosphere, not a fearful, negative one.

It is not that you are overlooking challenges; in fact, you are coming at them with the right attitude. The focus is always on what is working rather than what is not.

The more often you do it, the more automatic it becomes. And soon, you will find yourself automatically celebrating yourself and your coworkers or employees. And who doesn’t want to join that office culture?