The Importance of Celebrating Small Victories

By: Johnny Clark, Franchise Owner

Big, audacious goals are important. Most companies put extensive research and strategy into setting annual goals that will guide their workforces throughout the year and serve as the finish line looming on the horizon. And when those goals are achieved, a celebration often follows to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication.

But, just as important as the big celebration at the end of a hard fought battle to achieve a major goal is celebrating the small victories along the way. Even the most dedicated employees can burnout when the going gets tough, so reveling in minor milestones that push a project toward completion helps maintain engagement and gives a motivational boost.

According to research conducted by Harvard Business School featured in the Harvard Business Review:

“Even ordinary, incremental progress can increase people’s engagement in the work and their happiness during the workday. Across all types of events, our participants reported that a notable proportion (28%) of incidents that had a minor impact on the project had a major impact on people’s feelings about it. Because inner work life has such a potent effect on creativity and productivity, and because small but consistent steps forward, shared by many people, can accumulate into excellent execution, progress events that often go unnoticed are critical to the overall performance of organizations.”

So, what are the key benefits of celebrating small victories on the path toward achieving major goals?

• Showing progress: The best set goals outline a clear path toward success with measurable tasks or achievements along the way that show you are progressing in the right direction. It’s easier to avoid burnout on a project when there’s always a tangible milestone within reach.    

• Building commitment: When working toward accomplishing a major goal, it’s important to have full commitment from every member of the team. Celebrating small victories along the way helps everyone feel united and personally invested in encouraging each other to reach the next stage.  

• Allowing opportunities to “fine tune” along the way: Small victories are also beneficial when you don’t achieve them right away. If you find progress has stalled and that next milestone becomes harder and harder to reach, you have an early opportunity to assess the situation and make necessary adjustments to get the overall project back on track.

Make it meaningful
Although there is no shortage of ways to celebrate small victories, the most important factor is to ensure the celebration is meaningful. That doesn’t mean you have to roll out the red carpet and strike up the band for every little accomplishment, but you do want your employees to feel the hard work they’ve put in so far is worthwhile. From giving public recognition for individual accomplishment in an end-of-the-week team meeting to letting employees share the accomplishments that they personally consider small victories, the important thing is to foster a team that focuses on always pushing forward and striving for the next big accomplishment that will ultimately lead to achieving your goals. 

Leadership Lessons from National Leaders

Some are born with it, others try to learn it, and many do not discover their capacity for leadership until they are faced with the opportunity. Understanding how to lead effectively is essential in today’s business world, where the wrong hand at the helm can drag down productivity and morale, make a business less competitive, and result in a crippling lack of confidence in management.

How do you “learn” leadership?  A great way to start is to take a look at the best practices of truly effective leaders and apply their techniques in a way that makes sense for your own style and circumstances.

Leading a Nation Through 9/11

During his eight years in the White House, former President George W. Bush exemplified strength in leadership as he guided America through the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack on the U.S., as well as a difficult and complex financial crisis.

President Bush is quoted as defining his approach to leadership this way: “Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time.”

Authors Carolyn B. Thompson and Jim Ware explored the “common sense” leadership attributes of the former President in their book, “The Leadership Genius of George W. Bush: 10 Common Sense Lessons from the Commander-in-Chief.”

They offer this powerful advice for any leader:

• Identify core values

• Build alliances

• Have a vision

• Communicate

• Build trust

• Be disciplined

• Bring in the right people

• Follow your intuition

• Allow those hired to do their jobs

• Get results

The Power of a Mom Leader

Susan Wojcicki is famous for being Google company employee number 16 and for owning the Menlo Park, California, garage where the company first set up offices. Now the CEO of YouTube, Wojcicki was named to Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in 2015.

Wojcicki explains that being a mother of five children is one of the attributes that makes her a better leader, because it makes her prioritize her time and be efficient about focusing on the things that will make the most impact on the business.

“Having the sum of both of those things going on in my life makes me a better mom at the end of the day, and I think it gives me really important perspectives in the workplace as well.”

 A Lesson from the NFL

Tony Dungy started out as an NFL player, and then coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts. He made history as the first African American coach to win the Super Bowl, and did so without the yelling and anger often seen on the sidelines. He is known for his strong personal values and genuine, ethical leadership.

Since retiring from football, Tony Dungy is a New York Times bestselling author who has inspired many with his ability to equate leadership with the lessons he learned in the NFL. Dungy offers this valuable advice in his book “Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life”:

• Be a pro

• Act like a champion

• Respond to adversity; don’t react

• Be on time. Being late means either it’s not important to you or you can’t be relied upon.

• Execute. Do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it. Not almost. All the way. Not most of the time. All of the time.

• Take ownership. Whatever it takes. No excuses, no explanations.

Whether you’re currently serving in a defined leadership role or just starting your career, you are in a position to influence and guide those around you. Take these lessons from three very different leaders and consider how you can become a truly great leader for your business.

In Job Searching, Attitude Trumps Education

New Study Reveals the Qualities Employers Look For in Candidates

Attitude and Integrity Are Still Most Important in Hiring

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Garland, TX, July 2014 – Today Express Employment Professionals, the nation’s largest franchised staffing firm, released findings that reveal which traits are most important when hiring a candidate for a job.

The findings come from the 2014 edition of the “America Employed” survey of 115 Express franchises across the nation. Respondents were asked to rate various traits on a scale of one to five based on how important they are when evaluating applicants. This is the second year Express has released findings from its “America Employed” survey.

“Attitude” topped the list with an average rating of 4.53, followed closely by “work ethic/integrity.” “Education” received the lowest average rating at 2.67. Full results for both 2013 and 2014 are below.

“I’m not surprised that integrity and attitude continue to top the list,” said Bob Funk, CEO of Express Employment Professionals and a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. “Even the best education is no substitute for a good attitude. Of course, education is important, but while employers can teach their employees new skills, it’s much more difficult to teach things like integrity, work ethic or attitude.

“Job seekers should keep that in mind. You’re much more than your résumé. Employers don’t just want someone who has the skills and knowledge to succeed. They are also looking for people they can work with on a daily basis and trust to represent their companies well.”

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If you would like to arrange for an interview with Express in Garland, call (972) 681-1609.

Leading Your Business Through Vacation Season

By:  Samantha Clark. Franchisee, Garland, TX

The summer months can be a tricky time for employers, especially small-business owners, as they try to balance the needs of their customers with their employees’ requests for vacation time. With an eye on maintaining and growing a business, leaders may find themselves dreading vacation requests and the possibility of being short-handed. However, according to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey 47 per cent of survey respondents indicated they would not be taking a summer vacation this year. At first glance, this finding could draw sighs of relief from business leaders across the country, but the lack of vacationing could actually be hurting them in the long run.

Understand the Benefits
The amount of research supporting the importance of vacation is staggering. The famous Framingham Heart Study found that men had a 30 per cent greater chance of having a heart attack if they regularly skipped vacations compared to men who took at least a week off each year. The study concluded that an increased risk of heart disease is associated with skipping vacation for even just one year. In 2013, Psychology Today reported that having unused vacation days “can unfortunately decrease your overall productivity, increase stress and other health risks, and increase the likelihood you’ll burnout at work.”

And all of those consequences are bad news for business leaders. As a Forbes article pointed out, “Employers who discourage vacations end up with stressed, unhappy employees.” On the flip side, employers who encourage vacations can benefit from productive, happy, healthy employees, which are ultimately the key to a successful business.

Remove the Barriers
Although most people know that taking time off work is beneficial, many employees are not planning on taking a break this summer, even if their employers aren’t opposed to vacations. As Rusty Rueff, a career and workplace expert at employment site Glassdoor, told CBS, “Fear is still motivating people to not be away from the workplace. There’s a lot of motivation that says, ‘I’m afraid of being away for too long.’” If employers want their workers to take a vacation, and in turn be able to enjoy the benefits of rested, rejuvenated employees, leaders must be vocal about their support of vacations in order to overcome the fear that’s keeping people from taking time off.

Another reason that could be causing employees to reject summer vacations is the fact that, even when they’re on vacation they’re still finding themselves working. An article from CBS touted that “of the employees who take any of their vacation or paid time off, 61 per cent report doing some work while on vacation.” In a survey that asked employees why they work while on vacation, Glassdoor found that the top three answers were “no one else at my company can do the work,” “fear of getting behind” and “complete dedication to company.” The survey also found that almost a quarter of vacationing employees were contacted about work by co-workers, and one out of five was contacted by their boss. The good news is that this issue is all within the leaders’ control. All that’s required is some simple pre-planning to ensure tasks and responsibilities are adequately covered, team members are communicating before and after a vacation, and that everyone understands and respects the importance of taking a break from work.   

Lead By Example
As with many things, the best way to encourage employees to embrace the significance of taking a vacation is for leadership to set the example. And employers could be in for a pleasant surprise. According to an article from FastCompany, an Intuit study found that 82 per cent of small business owners who took a vacation experienced an increase in job performance upon their return to work. That renewed energy and positivity is contagious and can help the entire team be more productive.

John Roa, a Chicago-based serial entrepreneur and founder of AKTA, a digital engagement consultancy, echoed the same sentiment. “There’s a tremendous opportunity when traveling to allow yourself to think in ways that you normally don’t,” Roa said. “These fresh perspectives can inspire new ideas or cause solutions to issues you’ve been struggling with to appear almost out of nowhere.” This realization seems to be spreading because, according to Newsday, “a recent American Express OPEN survey found that 60 per cent of small-business owners are planning to take one full week of summer vacation this year, up from a record low last year of 49 per cent..”

One of the critical qualities of a great leader is the ability to see the big picture. It’s easy to label certain things like time off work and summer vacations as small and unimportant. But a successful leader understands how the small things fit into the big picture – how something as simple as a summer vacation can produce reenergized employees, who, in turn, can drive a successful business.

Samantha Clark, Franchisee

Express Employment Professionals

911 Main Street

Garland, TX  75040

 (972) 681-1609

Samantha.clark@expresspros.com