TRE Roots: Root #17 – Celebrate Success

TRE Root #17: CELEBRATE SUCCESS

Last month we talked about our Root Improve Relentlessly which asks that we stay focused on how we can continue to provide our best for the people we serve, and this month, our Root is Celebrate Success. These two are closely connected for me and require us to balance our attention between how we want to be better with also recognizing what we have accomplished and taking time to celebrate that. If we truly Put People First, we must strive to regularly do both.

For me, Celebrate Success is about recognizing both the big and the small successes and then being intentional in celebrating those. When a team at TRE works together to solve a problem for an individual we serve or helps a family to overcome barriers they are experiencing, the team should take time to talk about the accomplishment and create a celebration of what was accomplished for the person/family and the impact it made. Do more than talk about it. Come up with ways your team likes to celebrate those successes. This helps us to recognize the impact we are having for people, supports our collaborative efforts, and gives us individual feelings of accomplishment. Those are very strong outcomes that drive our effectiveness as an organization, as teams, and as individuals.

Celebrate Success is important at all levels of our organization:

• from supervisors to their staff and team
• between peers
• from staff to their supervisors
• from staff to people we serve and their families/caregivers, and
• from staff to our community partners

Celebrate Success as a Root of our culture is more than just recognition of an accomplishment. It is a more intentional and personal demonstration of appreciation for what has been accomplished and the contributions of those who drove the success. Appreciation creates more of a sense of value in the individual/team and what they contribute to the goals we set.

Celebrating Success has several benefits to us individually and as an organization that is striving to provide the highest quality in person-centered service delivery.

1. It reminds us of the goals we have set and ultimately accomplished and allows us time to reflect on why those goals were important, what impact they created.
2. It motivates us to continue our efforts to Improve Relentlessly.
3. It helps us focus on the positive and what is being achieved to support people we serve, and this boosts morale and sense of accomplishment.
4. It builds trust which then expands our relationships to be stronger.
5. It allows us time to reflect and recognize our contribution which also supports us to recharge our energy to move forward with the next goal.
6. It supports us in demonstrating true appreciation for the efforts people have made and what they have accomplished.

Celebrating Success can happen in a variety of ways and teams should talk about what would be most meaningful for those team members. Some examples include:

• Sending a personal note
• Taking time to get together one-on-one or as a group over coffee or lunch and expressing appreciation and gratitude
• Posting a “Shout Out” on Teams describing the success and those who contributed
• Having a team party to celebrate successes for year or quarter
• Putting together a visual/picture collage that captures the success and displaying it

As a group of around 400 staff you contribute towards many successes. You are changing lives for people who have many challenges and struggles. There is a lot to be celebrated! As you go through your work, consider the following:

• Talk within your team about the ways you would like to celebrate success. What are individual preferences for showing appreciation?
• Reflect personally on the successes you have achieved this year? Consider the real impact those have made.
• Consider reading the book The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman & Paul White.
• Celebrate the success of someone on your team or yourself – share it with us!
• Share other ideas on ways we can celebrate success.