Every Spring, I add plants to my garden (something new). I water, fertilize, mulch and stand back to admire my work and picture a beautiful flower garden in the summer (a reward).
Now, the hard work…weeding, trimming, watering, etc. Hmmm, not that happy anymore. Apply this concept to starting a new project at work. There are exciting launch meetings to announce something new. We roll out a plan and envision celebrating a successful outcome. Now the hard part…keeping up the excitement while facing barriers to success, interruptions, missed deadlines, conflicting priorities, etc.
If trying new things makes you happy, here are a few tips for leaders for keeping up the momentum and sustaining the “happiness of something new” experience:
- Create Milestones Before You Begin – Milestones allow you to provide that satisfaction of success during the life of the project. Think about seeing signs on a highway on a road-trip that tell you how many more miles to your destination, or arriving near a town halfway to your destination. Milestones give you something to celebrate even before you reach your goal.
- Opportunities to Renew Excitement – Is it time for another exciting meeting similar to the original launch meeting? Instead of launch, you can call it a “propel” meeting to create that feeling of momentum…of moving forward. You can “Paint a picture” with your words of what success will look like when the project is finished. Have conditions changed? Refine your project by adding new ideas to renew excitement.
- Provide Recognition and Rewards for Progress – Some projects take months or even years to implement so there is a delay in getting that feeling of success and reward. Providing an interesting way to reward progress and provide recognition for achieving milestones helps to keep up momentum and motivation. Think about charities who use a graphic such as a thermometer to show progress during fund raising campaigns.
A leader creates a dynamic and bold vision for their team…a great leader takes it a step further by executing the vision with momentum and motivation.
Are you interested in learning more about Leadership? Go to http://managementskillsinc.com/workshops/leadership-workshops/ Contact Deborah.Avrin@ManagementSkillsInc.com.