Plan to Party
Hopefully you were able to enjoy some Christmas festivities with family and friends. Perhaps an office party to boot to round out the year. But might more deliberate celebration at work be in order this year?
Perhaps like Pavel and I you’re not great at deeply savouring achievements in work—neither by planning nor execution. It’s not entirely our fault. With its tendency to prize materialism and productivity, Western work culture conditions us to “get ‘er done” and move on to the next thing. I instead propose that rich celebration is a vital and undervalued organizational discipline. We ignore it our peril. Here’s why:
Celebration is a human need: we can’t flourish without it. Just imagine your personal life with zero celebration in it. Not good.
Celebration cultivates and protects morale: it demonstrates your appreciation of people and what they do. It encourages.
Celebration is a cheap form of employee retention: you know what I mean.
Celebration cultivates humility: expressing gratitude to each other (and God) is good for people, your org, and the world.
Celebration is fun: which is precious and valuable, and brings all of us joy.
And a few final suggestions for the “how”:
Plan when you’ll do it, and for what reason: birthdays and Christmas, sure. but also for vital project milestones and organizational outcomes. Annually is too infrequent!
Plan what you’ll do. And if you’re bad at this find a suitable delegate. Be creative and think about what your people will appreciate—think “love languages.” It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. For example, a celebratory afternoon off to go to a nice cafe or watch a movie as a team can mean a lot.
Plan to spend some money! But make it measurably tied to financial or programmatic outcomes, so people are able to see how their work contributes to things worth celebrating. (There’s a whole science around bonus calculations that I can’t get into here; but do review that science!)
I hope you’ll give a little more thought to planning and “executing” more celebration this year. You and your people will appreciate it!