Why you need to celebrate your progress to achieve more

Sally Dillon • Jun 10, 2022

The power of celebrating your progess to achieve more!

My husband and I babysat our niece (4 yo) and nephew (2 yo) a few weeks ago. We had an amazing time with them, dancing to the wiggles, building a cubby and playing with toys (we’re seriously the best Aunty and Uncle, right?!!).

The kids are at the age where they are looking to the adults around them for validation and support of what they do. So every time they danced, did something for themselves or just did something really cute, we celebrated by clapping and cheering for them. In turn they smiled and joined in the clapping and cheering and they also continued to behave in the ways they were cheered on for.

It made me think that sometimes as adults we get so busy or distracted that we forget to stop and celebrate our wins and our day-to-day progress. As leaders we also sometimes forget to recognise and acknowledge the day to day wins and process of our teams and hold the celebrations for the big successes or completion of projects!

Celebrating your progress is all about shifting the focus away from negative thoughts, such as what you haven’t yet achieved, to what you HAVE achieved. In turn this gives us the confidence, energy and drive to keep going. 


It’s not just in our work life, the power of celebrating our progress motivates us in everyday life like when we’re:

  • Learning to paint something new - we celebrate the progress of our first picture to the masterpiece that we eventually put up on the wall.
  • Wanting to run 10klm - we may start by walking, then running 2klm, then 4klm and we celebrate each time we can run a bit further.
  • Gaming – we finally beat that one badass boss that seemed unbeatable, we celebrate even though there’s still more to play


Without these conscious acknowledgments of growth and progress, achievement and success have no meaning.  We also would have lost our motivation to keep trying unless we have seen progress along the way. 


I love this simple visual of The Progress Principle or Progress Loop, from the book, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work written by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer.

One of the most interesting and significant pieces of people research can be found in this book, where the authors analysed nearly 12,000 diary entries provided by 238 employees in 7 different companies.  Each day the employees’ diaries would specify how each person felt about their work as well as detailing what happened during the day.  Using extensive analytical methods, the authors and their teams could then tell whether the person who had written the entry had been creative that day, how their work was going and how their work appeared to relate to others in their team. 


Their research found a strong connection between the inner work lives of the employees who participated and their creativity, their work performance AND the performance of their entire team. 


They also found that what drove the employees was not a pay increase, bonuses or generalised recognition, but the most powerful driver of their work performance was the feeling of making progress at work!


Behaviours that help improve team productivity and happiness


The authors also identified 7 positive behaviours that leaders showed in their everyday work during the research to directly facilitate and promote successful project work. They were:

  1.  Set clear goals
  2. Support autonomy
  3. Provide sufficient resources
  4. Give enough time – but not too much
  5. Help with the work
  6. Learn from problems and successes
  7. Allow ideas to flow


The authors also provided a Daily Progress Checklist (below) which can be useful in tracking each day and whether you as a leader have helped or hindered your team. 

Takeaway


To become a great leader and build a high performing team, you will need to implement more of the positive behaviours listed above and learn how to set the positive Progress Loop in motion. 


You will also find that celebrating the small wins and focusing on the positivity of the progress you and your team are making, will make managing individuals, teams and the organisational outcomes much easier and more achievable. 


How will you implement some of these tools to improve the creativity, productivity and happiness of your team?


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Kate Clift had been employed at Tony's Wholesale Flowers for 19 months, working as a casual employee in production. She and two colleagues were stunned to receive an email from their boss, Tristan Smith, informing them that their positions had come to an end. The email stated that their roles were being terminated due to the end of the event season, and they were thanked for their hard work during that period. It’s worth noting that Clift’s contract stated that no notice was required to terminate her employment. However, Kate Clift believed there was more to her dismissal as she received the email one day after she called in sick for the third time in two weeks. She lodged a dispute with the Fair Work Commission, asserting that her status as a regular and systematic casual employee entitled her to protection against unfair dismissal. Her argument hinged on the fact that she had consistently worked similar shifts over the span of more than 12 months, and thus should not have been terminated without proper consideration. Furthermore, in her application to the commission, Clift said she missed two shifts because she was sick and the third as she was experiencing “trauma and emotional distress” from her home being broken into. She had communicated her feelings of sickness and unease to her employer, although she hadn't explicitly disclosed that her home had been broken into on the last day that she called in sick. Commissioner Hampton determined that although Tony’s Flowers may have had an objectively justifiable reason for the dismissal - that work was drying up as the business headed into the off-season - it was not related to Clift’s capacity or conduct at work and therefore was not a “valid reason”. Hampton also said the way Clift was let go via email was unreasonable and therefore deemed it an unfair dismissal. 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Respect employees' privacy and create an environment where they feel comfortable discussing their challenges. Lesson 3: Prioritise Written HR Policies and Procedures Having clear and well-defined HR policies and procedures or an employee handbook is like having a compass to navigate through HR challenges. These documents set expectations and ensure everyone knows their rights and responsibilities, creating consistency in decision-making. How to Minimise Risk: Develop comprehensive HR policies and procedures tailored to your business's needs. Regularly review and update these documents to reflect changes in legislation and business practices. Lesson 4: Seek Expertise from an Experienced HR Professional An experienced HR consultant can be your superhero! They know the ins and outs of relevant legislation and can tailor policies that suit your unique business needs. How to Minimise Risk: Collaborate with an HR consultant to ensure your policies and practices align with legal requirements. Leverage their expertise to navigate complex HR challenges and minimise potential risks. Lesson 5: Proactive Management of Employee Relations Happy employees lead to a thriving business. Effective communication, conflict resolution strategies, and performance management are crucial for maintaining a positive work environment. A HR consultant can help you establish these practices and keep your team engaged. How to Minimise Risk: Foster open communication channels to address concerns and conflicts promptly. Implement regular performance reviews and feedback sessions to nurture employee growth. Lesson 6: Mitigate Risks with Procedural Fairness The last thing you want is to face an unfair dismissal claim. Properly notifying employees about dismissal reasons and providing them an opportunity to respond is key to procedural fairness. Even when contracts state that no notice is required, it’s important to consider how and when that message is delivered to staff, particularly in light of Commissioner Hampton’s comments about Clift being advised by email was unreasonable. How to Minimise Risk: Establish clear procedures for dismissals, ensuring they adhere to legal standards. Seek guidance from an HR consultant to navigate the dismissal process with fairness and transparency. In conclusion, the case of Kate Clift v Tony's Wholesale Flowers serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of understanding employment laws, respecting employee rights, and maintaining a fair workplace environment. By integrating the lessons from this case into your HR practices, you can navigate the complexities of employment management with confidence. Need more help? 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By Sally Dillon • 18 Jun, 2023
Mastering the Social Media Minefield Why is this an issue right now? Social media has become an integral part of our lives, both personally and professionally. With an estimated 21.3 million Australians expected to be active on social media in 2023 (representing over 80% of the population and spending more than two hours daily), employers can no longer afford to overlook the impact of social media use by their employees. It's essential to recognise that employees' social media activities can pose risks to their employers' brand reputation. Inappropriate comments, abusive behaviour, sexism, threats, harassment, gossip, policy violations, or breaches of legislation such as anti-discrimination laws can all occur in various online platforms, including messaging apps. Without an appropriate social media policy and effective training in place, employers may find it challenging to take appropriate action. In this blog, we will delve into the importance of addressing employee social media usage and provide valuable insights into creating a robust social media policy and implementing effective training. By doing so, employers can safeguard their brand reputation, mitigate legal risks, and foster a positive and responsible online presence. Is your company's social media policy and training process strong enough to protect you from unfair dismissal claims? Recent decisions by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) shed light on the importance of clear and practical training, rather than just going through the motions. Let's take a look at a real-life case from April 2023 involving two firefighters who were fired for sharing offensive and pornographic content in a private Facebook Messenger chat called "Sickos video sharing group." Here's the surprising part: one of the firefighters got his job back (check out Mr Martin Pelly v Ventia Australia Pty Ltd T/A Ventia 2023 FWC 907 18 April 2023 ). 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Make sure employees understand the policy's purpose, scope, and the platforms it covers (such as LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook). Communicate clear expectations for representing the employer on public social media platforms, emphasising that online conduct can affect employment if it's connected to their job or reflects poorly on the employer. Consider the appropriateness of your training approach, including the possibility of face-to-face sessions for your workplace. Use plain language in your training materials and policies to ensure understanding. Clearly communicate your expectations for employee conduct both inside and outside of work. Regularly update and distribute your policies to align with changes in legislation. Continuously monitor and enforce compliance with your policies. Provide clarity on the boundaries for using personal accounts and devices when expressing divisive opinions or sharing offensive and inappropriate comments, as these can be traced back to the employer. Educate employees on handling confidential information and respecting intellectual property boundaries when sharing online. By implementing a strong policy and delivering clear, regular training, employers can eliminate any confusion about expectations for online conduct. Need more help? If you're unsure about how to navigate this issue or any other HR matter, here are the ways I can help you: Click here to book a FREE 15 minute consultation to discuss your HR challenges. Click here to book a HR Health Check, currently $297 (Value $499). Click here to join my mailing list to get more tips, advice and updates on all things HR and Leadership.
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