You hit a milestone, then what?
Credit: Canva AI

You hit a milestone, then what?

4 steps to honor your achievements

In a recent conversation a friend shared an enormous milestone she’d accomplished by completing a triathlon for which she’d trained for months. She talked about the best part of the entire event – completing all three elements. She also touched on how she conquered her biggest fear: making it through the swimming segment, which she said was SO rewarding.

Before I could congratulate her, she changed the subject.

First she shared a deeply challenging personal situation. With no room to spare, she followed that up by telling me what her next goal would be: climbing another fourteener.

I felt like I’d been swept into a tsunami of emotions. My dear friend left no space to be congratulated or celebrate her efforts. Instead, she brought herself down a notch with a tough situation, then immediately outlined her next challenge.

Sound familiar? You actually reach a goal you’ve set yourself only to seemingly dismiss it and move on without the opportunity to savor what you’ve been through and achieved.


The Coach’s Corner Newsletter #70

You hit a milestone, then what?

Jim has been working on how he shows up as a leader, whether he gets the support he wants from his team or the C-Suite. In our coaching sessions, he’s discovered how much influence he has and he’s been using it to drive growth with his team.

When we met this week he shared that his group reached and beat a goal they’d set in the spring and how they were all getting a lot of attention.

In our team meeting, the CEO even jumped onto the call to congratulate all of us as a unit saying how much she admired our persistence through the process. It was absolutely wild!

As I wondered how they might be marking this event, Jim said they didn’t have time to celebrate because now they’re worried.

You see, the CEO wants a senior director from a cross-functional group to sit in on some of our meetings to learn more about how we accomplished this deal.
What gives you pause when you hear this from your leadership?
Clearly, they might try to use our strategies we worked so hard to craft!

He’d moved from elation to fear in a few minutes.

As we began to explore what might happen if the team chose to share their methods for the greater good of the org, Jim began to relax.

I’m noticing you’re breathing again. What would it look like to celebrate what you and your team just accomplished?

That’s when we shifted our focus to reflecting on what he and his team did so well. He established a way to share this success throughout the org and mark the date. And then he came up with a plan to personally thank each member of his team for their hard work to stick to their methods, regardless of the obstacles.

Wow, this really was a big win!

The celebration was underway.


THIS WEEK’S TOOL

4 steps to honor your achievements

Jim realized what some of us forget - to recognize a win and truly savor it.

https://loismelkonian.com

First, reflect on how you got there. What was different this time? Who did you partner with? What did you bring with you to reach this place?

Second, share with others. Maybe it’s your team, your boss, your spouse, your best friend or your aunt. They want to know!

Third, mark the date. There’s something special about writing down when an important event takes place - for me it’s crucial if I want to remember!

And fourth, say thank you! Who supported you along the way? How did you get the chance to do this? And maybe the one to thank is yourself.



My takeaway

Milestones. They are so important in life and work - and I’m often among the first to brush aside wins of any size for a host of reasons. Not this week - today I’m reminded of a series of victories I want to acknowledge:

  • Smiles on the faces of our nearly 8-week old twin granddaughters.
  • Celebrating with a client who’s worked so hard for a big win.
  • Passing a building inspection.
  • Learning to play pickle ball.
  • Embracing a breakthrough following a difficult conversation.
  • Positioning myself for growth and learning opportunities.

In choosing to reflect, share, commemorate and give thanks - the impact of these accomplishments are sinking in. I’m certain there will be new adventures tomorrow and by acknowledging what is going well today - I will be ready for whatever is in store.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

Oprah Winfrey




要查看或添加评论,请登录

Lois Melkonian, MCC的更多文章

  • People show you who they are

    People show you who they are

    Believe them and let them be When’s the last time you were in a meeting or workshop and it seemed like the same…

    3 条评论
  • Living through a new political era

    Living through a new political era

    3 ideas to keep calm and carry on We are living through significant political shifts in our communities, our nation and…

    4 条评论
  • Your leadership matters

    Your leadership matters

    Be curious, communicate clearly, connect with others You often discover what a key principal is in your life - when you…

    5 条评论
  • Leadership mistakes can be costly

    Leadership mistakes can be costly

    How to turn those missteps around I’m a firm believer that mistakes have a lot to teach us, having made more than my…

  • 4 major leadership mistakes

    4 major leadership mistakes

    And how to recover from those mistakes There’s something about watching someone drop the ball as a leader that is…

    8 条评论
  • Leading by connection

    Leading by connection

    5 attributes of a connected leader Having made a life-changing decision to move from Denver, CO to Rockwall, TX nearly…

  • Want to communicate clearly?

    Want to communicate clearly?

    Define a message, know your audience, keep it simple The family in which I grew up wasn’t always direct. Here’s a scene…

    6 条评论
  • Lead with curiosity

    Lead with curiosity

    Be present, listen, ask questions With the array of information at your fingertips – have you noticed how challenging…

    2 条评论
  • What do you look for in a leader?

    What do you look for in a leader?

    Reflect on those who led you well From the playground to a team meeting to large event – it doesn’t take long to spot…

    2 条评论
  • Beginning again

    Beginning again

    3 practices for change in 2025 You’re probably familiar with the idea that doing something over and over while…

    2 条评论