Cairn [ kairn ]
noun
a heap of stones set up as a landmark, monument, tombstone, etc.
I met with a leader of a large company before their annual offsite. We were scripting the event, and I wanted to help him create an introductory statement of where he felt they were and how he thought they were doing. He struggled mightily to say much good about the company's progress over the prior year. Because I was very aware of all their previous year's successes, I could ask a few pointed questions to help him create an extensive list of all their accomplishments.
And this isn't an isolated case. Most people can create a long list of failures on inadequacies in their life, leadership, and business but struggle with identifying much good. We've worked with owners who could only come up with a handful of accomplishments to have the teams they lead identify dozens of things to celebrate. It is a worthwhile exercise with a group of leaders or an entire company (depending on the size).
It is like creating a cairn, commemorating a point in time by celebrating the progress and making a memorial. When we generate numerous flip-charts of a team's accomplishments, the leadership often wants to take and keep those summaries close because the antithesis of all that good is whispered constantly.
Is celebrating progress something that you and your team regularly do? We think it should be done annually, at a minimum, but we work acknowledgment and celebration into our regular meeting rhythms. Rather than making people comfortable with their progress, it typically does the opposite. It becomes the motivation and the fuel to keep moving forward despite all the obstacles they face daily.
I often get to hear leaders say:
A particular employee is doing a great job
The team is performing well
They really love their spouse
They are super proud of their kids
I always ask, "When was the last time you told them that?" Guess what their answer almost always is? "They know." Meaning; I did something or said something to let them know my appreciation at some point in the last year or so. Almost everyone around us is comparing their average day to the highlights of millions of others' greatest hits through social media. We can't share our appreciation enough.
I've had occasions when I felt I needed to share something positive about a person's leadership. It is common to have to circle back and repeat the encouragement several times before it ever seems to register. We are swimming against a powerful cultural stream we have to break through.
They can tell you a hundred ways they don't measure up and how inadequate they are. They are starving for honest, thoughtful, and sincere appreciation and encouragement. I was meeting recently with a leader, and I asked how one of his team members was doing. This team member is 3-4 levels down from him. He said he didn't interact with him directly but listed several good things he had picked up from those managing him.
When I later told the team member what the senior leader had said, he excitedly told me, "It made his year." and fired him up to keep working harder. But, beyond this obvious benefit to your organization that encouragement and praise can provide, it also raises the dignity and agency of even the lowest common denominators in your organization. If those under our care experienced that, we could change the world.
Consider
What is your culture like for celebrating your team’s progress?
Can you remember the last time you did that in a meaningful way and what the response was?
Make a short list of people and think about how you can show them your gratitude. Or establish a time with your team to mark the progress they’ve made over the last year.