Redefining success

I've been thinking a lot lately about how we adapt our definitions of success according to new circumstances. This is critical to avoiding stagnation. Once we reach a new summit, it's important that we keep climbing higher.

Alternately, if we get knocked down, we have to re-adapt to our new position and lower our expectations to a more reasonable level.

For instance, maybe you're a runner. If you can run a 7-minute mile, your next goal may be a 6.5-minute mile. And if you reach that, you'll then want to get to 6. But if both your legs get broken, suddenly your goal is to walk again.

We must adapt to our circumstances.

Unfortunately, we all too often forget to celebrate each new success as we achieve it. We reach a goal and immediately readjust our expectations.

In your personal life, this may be OK. It may not make you happy, but you're only hurting yourself in that instance.

What about in business?

Do you find you tend to become so progress-oriented that you forget to take time for celebration, kudos, and congratulation? Do you immediately refocus on the next goal? Are important milestones coming and going without recognition?

This hurts morale.

I am part of a team that, bless our hearts, is very results-focused. We do great work. I love working on this team and think I'm lucky to be surrounded by high performers.

But we often forget to stop and celebrate. We don't even turn the corner before we're thinking about the long road we're going to encounter once we get there.

We have an ever-raising bar, which is important for our continued success. But it feels like that bar is always, always out of reach.

An office is made of human beings doing their best each day. If we don't give ourselves the opportunity to reach goals every once in awhile, we'll get run down.

So what can be done?
Try to really think about the milestones your team, your organization, or you are reaching. And acknowledge them. Send a congratulatory e-mail. Use an exclamation point or two. Go out for lunch. Send a thank you note. Go home early.

I should note - this is not about incentives. It's about saying, "Good job," before saying, "Here's what we need to do next." And that includes what you say to yourself.

It occurred to me recently that I'd never acknowledged my success in implementing the staff newsletter after a merger. It took a lot of effort--and fighting for its continued existence--before it finally became universally accepted and institutionalized. Now it's a relied-upon resource for staff, which even Human Resources trusts to distribute critical information. I worked hard to make that happen.

Yet, before last week, I never even acknowledged that success. The newsletter transitioned seamlessly from "thing I have to fight for" to "thing that has to get done each week." It never was "thing I'm proud of." But it should have been.

I'm not looking for a reward. It was just satisfying to realize I'd achieved a goal and to let myself appreciate it.

It can be very challenging to see success even when it's staring you in the face. It's worth the effort, though.

Try looking for achievements. Start with yourself. Then your team. Give congratulations where they're due. Take a moment to say, "We did it!"

This is particularly important if you're a manager. It doesn't take much to acknowledge your staff. You just have to keep your eyes open for opportunities. And the 30 seconds you spend writing the e-mail saying, "Nice work on the annual report, Sam. I know that took a lot of your time this month. Thanks for your hard work," will be exponentially more valuable than any other 30 seconds you'll spend that day.