Expectations, Celebrations and Realizations
I escaped for a few hours to watch the French Open Women’s Final. I love tennis, but I’m particularly a sucker for the awards presentation ceremonies that follow any major event. Even if I don’t enjoy the sport, I love watching the winner celebrate their victory and be honored by the sponsoring agencies and adoring fans. Not much brings me to tears, but seeing someone honored for their accomplishment does it every time!
Maria Sharapova‘s recent win was no different. In fact, this calculated, focused, deliberate player gave into her emotions at the close of the final point. From falling to her knees with hands in her face full of tears to leaps of joy while blowing kisses to the stadium, her joy was contagious.
For a brief minute I was a bit envious of her and dreamed of quitting my day job to become a tennis pro to experience a moment like that. Then of course reality reminded me that that is not even remotely a possibility. (My unpredictable forehand still baffles my tennis coach!)
We all long for our moment in the spotlight and the applause of a stadium full of fans screaming our name . . . I don’t know if it’s our culture or if it’s just a part of our human nature.
This whole idea got me thinking about the fact that very rarely do some of our biggest accomplishments in leadership get the praise and recognition that we hope for or maybe even deserve.
I believe that’s because the truly great moments of your leadership rarely happen in the spotlight.
Recently I completed a project that I had been working on for over a year. A small team of our leaders have been inching away at this goal and finally realized a significant moment of completion. I hadn’t really thought ahead of time what that moment would feel like but apparently I had some subconscious expectations because I realized very quickly that those expectations were not being met. After a year’s worth of grueling decision-making the final moment was really quite lackluster.
I had subconsciously expected a major ceremony of celebration but the situation didn’t call for that. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. No one had failed me. I got a few appropriate “congratulations” and high fives, but the celebration certainly didn’t feel equal to the work it took to accomplish it.
I learned a few things in all of this:
- Be tuned into your emotions and expectations.
My 6-year-old self wanted to be celebrated while my 36-year-old self needed to put her big girl pants and remember it’s not all about me.
- Make your own trophy.
While you must be careful of having an expectation that everyone will celebrate you, it’s okay and actually probably healthy to create some ways to celebrate yourself. Strategically plan a vacation after a major project, take an extra day off that week, treat yourself to an indulgence (ice cream, round of golf, manicure, massage, a night out with friends). Whatever it is, mark the moment and let yourself celebrate it.
- Create celebrations for others.
If you are in a position of leadership, look for opportunities to create celebrations for others. Create a culture where celebration is part of your pace.
So just for fun . . . what’s the best celebration you’ve ever received?
For me, it was our third grade track meet where I won two first place and one second place. I wore those medals with pride!
CC Image • alphababy on Flickr
