Skip to main content

“Selah” - Celebrate little victories

“Selah” - Celebrate little victories.

I noticed a trend among the executives I have been coaching over the past 10 year. They are all driven to succeed. Now this is a good thing. Except sometimes they neglect to stop to celebrate their successes before moving on…

I was having lunch with two board member of a CEO I am coaching. We talked about how well the organization was doing and their tremendous success. Then the topic of celebrating that success came up. Both board members felt the CEO was doing a great job and needed to celebrate small successes more often. One of the board members told me about the word “Selah”. It is an ancient Hebrew word found in the bible between verses. She said it means “stop and ponder”…

For years now I have been encouraging my executives to have “Selah” moments, to “stop and ponder’ on their successes for themselves, their executive team and the entire organization. I encourage them to stop, ponder and celebrate before moving on…

Here are a few ways to “Selah” (stop and ponder) and celebrate:

1. Stop and Ponder - First is to engage people in the debriefing the project, activity, event, etc. This helps them stop, ponder and celebrate. I teach a very simply yet effective continuous improvement model. My “CI” model is two questions: a) What did I do “Well”? b) Where can I “Improve”? By answering the first question, we in essences are uncovering things to celebrate.

2. Celebrate – Now that you have uncovered the things you did well. Celebrate them...both as a group and individually.

3. Keep the momentum going - Celebrate and reset the goal! The key is to keep the growth going. Do this by setting up new metrics. Look at your metrics and break them down in smaller components. Instead of quarterly numbers break them down into monthly, weekly, or even daily components... It is easier to adjust your path if you see the shift sooner. (Also see my blog post on Setting Goals)

4. Celebrate little victories. When you reach these smaller metrics celebrate them. (See previous postings on Motivating People and Building Teams)


How do you celebrate your successes? Let me know what you are doing. E-mail me at Patrick@PatrickDonadio.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Building a team “Family Style”

Building a team “Family Style” I come from a big Italian family. All four of my grandparents came to America from Italy (okay my Mom's father came from Sicily!). My extended family, just on my Dad's side (including aunts, uncles, cousins…), totaled almost 100 people. So I am very well versed on the concept of working together in groups. When I look at team building I think of it as ‘family building”. Here is what I mean: 1. First, think of the group as “Family” not a team. Family in this context is a group whose members are related in origin, characteristics, or occupation. So since you are related in occupation, you qualify as a “family” I’ve always considered my co-workers, clients and other business relationship as my “business family”. I have used this concept with organizations when I have served: as president, as committees chair and on committees/teams. I find it more powerful to think “family” versus team. 2. Find ways to get people to work/play together. You build stro
1 comment
Read more

7 Ways to Say No

7 Ways to Say No Going along with my theme from my last post "Not to Do List" I though I would reprint an article I wrote on ways to say "no!" I think many people struggle with telling others “No”. The reason they struggle is because they think they only have two choices. They can either say “yes” or “no”. I try to avoid “all or nothing” thinking. I believe that there are many alternative between the extremes. So here are several different ways I share with my clients on how they could say no: 7 Ways to Say No: 1) Say NO… with a straightforward explanation – “No, I’m uncomfortable doing that!” 2) Say NO… and give an alternative – “No. I can’t do that today, how about first thing in the morning?” 3) Say NO… and clarify your reason – Help them understand your position. Explain the why. “No. I can’t help you because I made commitment to my family to not work on weekends this month.” 4) Give Preface then Say NO… – “Each year we choose 3 charities to support and I am sor
1 comment
Read more

Anti-New Year's Resolutions?

"Not To Do List" During this time of year, people starting thinking about making "New Year's Resolutions". I use to set New Year's Resolutions at the beginning of the year. Now I look at it differently. Every quarter I set and revisit my goals. I encourage my busy executive coaching clients to do the same. In addition to setting/revisiting new goals I ask my coaching clients to also create a "Not To Do List". Yes, I did say a "Not To Do List". Some of us (including myself) keep adding to our list and very seldom take the time to look at the list and ask, "What can I stop doing?" ACTION IDEAS Here are a few ways to make "Anti-Resolutions" and remove some of those goals on your list that no longer serve you: 1. Does it fit in with you current mission/vision of your organization? Is not, take it off the list. 2. Is it the best use of your time? Can or should someone else be doing it? If so delegate it 3. Does is bring va
Post a Comment
Read more