Coaching to Success

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Celebrate

IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE… NO, NOT JUST CHRISTMAS!!

Woo Hoo! Christmas is upon us and whether religious or not, what a time of year to get together with family, friends, colleagues and customers/clients by way of celebrating. Look how the BBC recognised some of the years’ achievements with the Sports Personality of the Year award held on Sunday night. Now that was something worthwhile celebrating! But what of yourself? How has 2012 been for you PERSONALLY? It’s time to celebrate YOUR successes.

Whether you refer to it as a Goal, Dream, Objective or something else, we live in a goal-orientated culture but all too often, we get a buzz over achieving that ‘task’ and before we know it, we’re onto the next! SLOW DOWN… let’s take stock of what you have done, and learn to celebrate what you actually may consider as just something that had to be done.

We’re about to leave 2012 and cross over into a New Year, so take stock of what you’ve accomplished before you do. By undertaking this little exercise, it will help give inspiration to step into 2013, develop confidence and a healthy pride, as well as offer proof that we are growing and succeeding in life and/or work. This is what we refer to as ‘evidence based’ proof rather than the internal critical voice that puts doubts in our head without any foundation other than negative beliefs we build for ourselves.

 

“So what have I achieved?” is a question we rarely ask ourselves. Here are 3 successes people tend to gloss over without stopping to think about:

  1. Steps towards the BIG GOAL! Each step is like learning to walk; the first teetering wobbles, standing upright for the first time, the bigger steps, jogging then running, and eventually winning the 100m race. We know how to acknowledge winning the 100m, but celebrate each milestone along the way!
  2. Inner achievements not recognised by the wider society! These are another part of those achievements which mean something to us personally. For example, Christmas is coming but you have no idea how to cook a roast and now you’re planning to cook a turkey, a joint of beef, and a slow-cooked gammon joint!! So once the Christmas meal is over, allow yourself time for reflection and to enjoy the sense of satisfaction on successfully completing something you were nervous, or even scared to start. What an inner achievement  – careful how you celebrate though, as I know how easily the Christmas spirit flows, hehe!
  3. Overcoming Failures & Mistakes! Celebrate these; we only make mistakes because we’ve stepped out of our comfort zone, so look at them as learning experiences, and not mistakes. Thomas Edison once wrote “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward.”

Back to your success, consider the following to help you realise what you’ve achieved this year. Get a note pad and put each question as a header on a separate page (7 in all):

  1. What were or was your biggest achievements this year?
  2. What are you most proud of?
  3. What were your minor achievements that led to the bigger goal?
  4. What has surprised you with regards an accomplished achievement?
  5. What were those times of ‘Ooops!’? Those moments of Failure or Mistake? What did you learn from this and what was the resulting sense of achievement or feeling of pride by overcoming them?
  6. What are those ‘Personal’ achievements (like cooking the roast, sorry if I’ve led your thoughts that way!)
  7. AND NOW TO CELEBREATE… How are you going to celebrate those successes? How are you going to recognise them?

Celebration is personal to you. Whatever takes your fancy… go out for a meal with someone you care about (honestly, food isn’t the only thing I think about). Buying some reward whether it is something small or large, you have to recognise that this is bought because of your achievement. Go for a massage or a spa. Take a hike, climb a mountain, get on your bike to take time out for yourself! Just make sure it’s something significant enough to remind you of the reason you have or have done it.

Coaching to Success has helped firms/companies and the people therein to develop strength through building confidence and understanding the need to celebrate ourselves as well as helping others understand the benefit of praise within the workplace. If this is an area you are looking to develop within your working environment to either simply increase the positive atmosphere or to improve performance, take the next step by speaking to someone who can help. Call us to arrange a free consultation by contacting Neil (07761 187238) or throw us an email at info@coachingtosuccess.co.uk. We’re here to help.

KOOL AND THE GANG HAVE IT RIGHT… CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON!

Back in January I wrote a blog all about increased productivity through enjoyment and what is the country like at this moment in time, what with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and so many of us getting the feel good factor let alone mixing up the celebrations with friends and families?

We feel so much better when we celebrate and this isn’t restricted to just personal areas. Within work, how much better do we feel when someone recognises something we’ve done or the power that the simplest of words ‘thank you’ have on the way we feel and act within our work?

As a leader, a manager, or a peer to others recognising and celebrating employee achievements or events in their personal lives as well as the workplace can help keep up employee morale and commitment to company objectives.

Here are some very simple steps to consider when at work, as you see the opportunity, to use them on your team or peers or, come to that, your line managers and superiors (it doesn’t have to always go down the line!), grab that chance as a happy workplace is a really conducive one that has the same ‘positive’ wave that ripples out as does those negative ones we all too frequently receive.

1st Step: Look for and find everyday reasons to celebrate

Don’t just wait for Birthdays or someone leaving to create a celebration. Every month celebrate … it’s easy to find something if you simply look for it!

2nd Step: Set up a group whose job it is to celebrate!

Look within the organisation and find those who can get involved with getting the message out. Find scouts who can report back on items the company can celebrate. Is someone doing a charity run, maybe even the Marathon, celebrate what they aim to do and when they’ve done it… create a celebration committee, let others help you find the good news.

3rd Step: ALL employees count, acknowledge everyone’s input

Morale in the workplace can suffer, especially if their work is great but no-one tells them! Exemplary work by a team, in larger organisations, or a member of staff are great for reasons to celebrate but don’t just wait for the ‘Big’ success. At every opportunity, express your thanks and gratitude and in larger organisations, where everyone doesn’t necessarily know what everyone else does, use this platform to elucidate the roles in which certain people or departments play in the company.

4th Budget for Celebration

This doesn’t have to be a massive outlay but even the smallest amount spent out will reap huge benefits in return. Insure this is consistent and not just a one-off but don’t just offer lip service, it has to be sincere and have substance otherwise it will be viewed as nothing more than a pointless PR exercise.

5th Step: Let everyone know through mementos

Take your team to an off-site venue, maybe an annual employee celebration awards ceremony or if a smaller organisation, the Christmas bash. Wherever, create a day if needs be and offer out mementos on a yearly, bi-annual or even monthly basis and give out Key-fobs, Pens, T-shirts, whatever your budge can spread to so this acts as a reminder of achievements and instils a feeling of wanting to repeat again.

Remember how you feel when something you’ve achieved is celebrated by someone else! Think positively of how you feel when outstanding work that someone else has done has been recognised and the recognition this brings! Hopefully this will start you on your path towards celebrations but if there is or are some areas that you feel you could still do with some additional support, Coaching to Success are here, just call Neil (07761 187238) to arrange a free consultation on how we can help. We’d also appreciate any feedback on these blogs as to whether you find them interesting, beneficial or otherwise (neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk). Many thanks.