Integrity Ideas are specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity^®—actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles, and priorities.  You can find more Integrity Ideas at Integrous | Integrity Ideas (integriosity.com)

INTEGRITY IDEA: Celebrate Accomplishments

“Celebrate Accomplishments” is about a faithful leader cultivating an organizational culture in which team accomplishments are celebrated with all those who contributed.

It recognizes the importance, in the pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing, of not rushing past accomplishments in pursuit of the next objective.

Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  Some are helpful ideas to consider as a faithful leader prayerfully discerns the best stewardship of the organization. Others may be important steps in the RENEW/RE-ALIGN/RE-IMAGINE/RESTORE process.

“Celebrate Accomplishments” is in the “if it fits” category because the appropriate form of celebration will depend on the nature of the organization and the work it does. It is one way to build connection, express gratitude, and ensure that employees feel valued.

The act of taking time to celebrate accomplishments has deep Biblical roots.  Scripture records communal celebrations after Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem completed the wall, Solomon completed the first temple, and the people of Israel completed the second temple.

Nehemiah:

And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. (Nehemiah 12:27)

And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. (Nehemiah 12:43)

Solomon

So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days. On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart . . .. (1 Kings 8:65-66)

Second Temple

And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. (Ezra 6:16)

“Celebrate Accomplishment” also aligns with two broader Biblical principles: celebration should be inclusive, and enjoying the fruit of work is a gift from God.

Moses:

You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. (Deuteronomy 16:13-14)

Solomon:

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. (Ecclesiastes 5:18)

Celebration and gratitude have been topics of prior Integrity Idea posts.

Integrity Idea 011: Celebrate Impact focuses on arranging for customers and clients to share with the organization’s employees how the organization’s products or services have impacted their lives and allowed them to impact other lives. It emphasized the value of presenting employees with a bigger “vision” for their work.

Integrity Idea 036: Thank Your Temps is about acknowledging the contributions of, and thanking, your temporary and freelance workers at year-end.

Integrity Idea 042: Give Horizontal Thanks is about faithful leaders taking the time to express their appreciation for individual co-workers, which can be as simple as saying “thank you.”

Integrity Idea 071: Grow Gratitude is about implementing practices to help employees experience feelings of gratitude and to reinforce a culture of humility by encouraging them to turn their focus to the “other.”

Integrity Idea 085: Support the Supporters, is about implementing practices to support, care for, and recognize the employees who keep “stars” looking good, keep initiatives moving forward, and keep teams working together.

“Celebrate Accomplishments” brings together elements of each of these ideas but has a distinct emphasis.

It celebrates a shared result rather than an individual contribution. It reinforces the value of the people who made the result possible, rather than principally presenting a vision of the work’s impact. It recognizes contributors across roles rather than focusing on a particular group. And it creates an intentional opportunity to acknowledge and glorify God.

Jenni Catron wrote in a YouVersion Bible plan called “Becoming an Extraordinary Leader”

Leading from the heart means understanding the power of connection: knowing that one of our greatest human needs is to be known. We want to believe that we matter. And we sincerely long for those who lead us to see us as individuals: to see our unique potential and contribution, to help call it out in us, and to affirm that what we bring and who we are really matter to the greater story.

“Celebrate Accomplishments” creates connection and reinforces a business a better way culture that prioritizes relationships, community, human dignity, and flourishing.

CONTINUUM: Practices

The Integriosity model organizes “heart change” along six Covert-Overt Continuums.  There is nothing inherently magic about these categories, but we believe they are helpful in thinking about practical execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values, and a Re-Imagined Culture.  The Continuums are Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People.

Each Continuum represents an area in which leaders can begin to think about, plan, and institute Re-Alignment changes to the heart of the organization.

“Celebrate Accomplishments” is on the Practices Continuum. It involves practices the organization can adopt to reflect its culture while also helping to shape and reinforce that culture. 

COVERT-OVERT RATING: Highly Covert

The Integriosity model breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations—from Highly Covert to Highly Overt—that we believe are helpful in beginning to pray and think about what is most appropriate for an organization at a particular moment in time.

Most Integrity Ideas have one place on the scale.  Some can vary depending on how they are implemented.  We identify “Celebrate Accomplishments” as Highly Covert (an action that would be taken by a secular company), because every organization should be interested in recognizing, encouraging, and celebrating the contributions of employees to its accomplishments.

It can be moved toward the Overt end of the Continuum by, for example, openly thanking God for enabling the accomplishment or explaining the Biblical roots of celebration. The words used and the way the celebration is conducted can be as Overt or Covert as the leaders prayerfully determine is appropriate.

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees

When we categorize faith-based actions, we also consider the stakeholders principally impacted by the action: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community and Kingdom.

“Celebrate Accomplishments” principally serves Employees.

IMPLEMENTATION

Implementing “Celebrate Accomplishments” can be as simple as gathering to share a celebratory cake, as elaborate as a group getaway to a resort, or anything in between.

It might involve a meal, an outing, a reception, a toast, or simply pausing the workday to gather and acknowledge what has been accomplished. The scale matters less than the intentionality.

As we emphasized in post #212 (Integrity Idea 042: Give “Horizontal” Thanks), showing appreciation seems to be an important workplace need for people to flourish. In his book, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People, Gary Chapman notes:

In a global study of over 200,000 employees completed by the Boston Consulting Group, the most important factor employees related to enjoying their job was that they felt appreciated.

For “Celebrate Accomplishments”, it is important to keep the focus on the team effort and include as many of those who contributed as is practicable. Chapman observed:

Employee happiness was found to be much more closely correlated to the connections they shared with their coworkers rather than those they shared with their direct supervisors.

“Celebrate Accomplishments” is an opportunity to strengthen those connections by reminding employees not only of their own value to the team, but also of the contributions made by others. Recognizing the contributions of others grows humility and contributes to a culture of gratitude.

While bonuses to recognize an accomplishment will likely be welcome, money by itself may contribute little to the goals of connection and humility and may do little to reinforce a business a better way culture that prioritizes relationships, community, human dignity, and flourishing. Seth Godin observed:

When we default to a simple number, we dehumanize the transaction and fail to see what people really need and want.

Although potentially more personal, gifts run the same risk if not combined with an opportunity for team connection and celebration.

When a faithful leader is prayerfully considering how the organization will implement “Celebrate Accomplishments,” the following ideas may be helpful:

• What will be celebrated? Not every completed assignment warrants a party. Faithful leaders should discern which accomplishments represent meaningful milestones, sustained team effort, unusual perseverance, significant impact, or the completion of a particularly difficult undertaking. Celebrating everything can make celebration feel routine; never celebrating communicates that no accomplishment is enough.

• Who will be included?  The reinforcement of connection and humility is greater when the celebration includes as many people directly involved in the accomplishment as practicable. That may include people whose work was essential but less visible, as well as outside advisors, temporary workers, or vendors who were instrumental in the result. Leaders should be particularly careful not to celebrate only with the senior or customer-facing members of the team

• How will accomplishments be celebrated? While the nature of a celebration will largely be dictated by the organization’s budget and the nature of its business, people are less likely to feel unappreciated when other accomplishments are being celebrated if “Celebrate Accomplishments” is implemented fairly and consistently in the organization—not one department celebrating with a cake and another with a lavish dinner. Consistency does not require identical celebrations, but differences should be understandable and not merely reflect hierarchy, favoritism, or the visibility of the people involved.

• What will be said? A celebration should do more than provide food or entertainment. Leaders should identify what was accomplished, acknowledge the work and sacrifice involved, and recognize the different people and roles that made the result possible. The words of recognition give meaning to the gathering.

• Will God be acknowledged? “Celebrate Accomplishments” glorifies God even if Highly Covert, because God is glorified when his creation is treated with dignity, when his people love and care for each other, and when those created in his image pause to recognize and enjoy the fruit of their labor, reflecting the God who surveyed his completed work and declared it “very good.” A faithful leader should prayerfully consider whether to overtly recognize and give thanks for the gifts of God that made the accomplishment possible.

However it is implemented, “Celebrate Accomplishments” can help people feel valued and glorify God as leaders take the time to pause, gather the people who made an accomplishment possible, acknowledge their contributions, encourage them to enjoy the fruit of their work, and give thanks to the God who enabled it.

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM): Based on my experience over nearly 23 years in the world of Wall Street law firms, celebrating “deals” was quite normal and greatly appreciated by those involved.  I attended many “closing dinners” in my career. The two most memorable were one that led to my dating and eventually marrying Lisa, and another that included a black-tie “closing dinner” in an English castle, with helicopter transportation to get there and a vintage Rolls Royce ride to get home.  Other celebrations ranged from champagne in a conference room when papers were signed to small team lunches.  Sadly, I do not recall a single celebration that included the non-legal staff whose efforts were critical to the accomplishment. The lawyers celebrated the closing, but many of the people who worked long hours processing documents, managing logistics, arranging travel, and keeping the process moving were absent.

And it goes without saying that God was never acknowledged.

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific practical actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.

INTEGRITY IDEA: Celebrate Accomplishments

“Celebrate Accomplishments” is about a faithful leader cultivating an organizational culture in which team accomplishments are celebrated with all those who contributed. It recognizes the importance, in the pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing, of not rushing past accomplishments in pursuit of the next objective. It follows the example of Nehemiah when the wall was completed, Solomon when the first temple was completed, and the people of Israel when the second temple was completed.  Humans feel valued and God is glorified when leaders take the time to pause, gather the people who made an accomplishment possible, acknowledge their contributions, encourage them to enjoy the fruit of their work, and give thanks to the God who enabled it. By doing so, faithful leaders create connection and reinforce a culture that prioritizes relationships, community, human dignity, and flourishing.

COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices

COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees

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Photo credit: Original image by Quan Nguyen on Unsplash
(photo cropped)