“Behavior that gets rewarded, gets repeated.”
For anyone who lives in the Pacific Northwest there is only one dominant topic that has captured the center of conversations lately: the Seattle Seahawks trek to the Super Bowl and subsequent 43 - 8 rout of the Denver Broncos.
It was a victory indeed - and a long time in the making; it was the first-ever National Championship for the Seattle team...and the celebrations have been ongoing ever since the clock wound down to 00:00 in the stadium in New York last Sunday.
Today as this email is sent, the victory parade for the home-town Seahawks is winding its way through Seattle, culminating in a massive celebration at the teams' home field at Century Link Stadium.
In addition to a lot of fun for Seahawks fans, this victory celebration can also serve as a timely reminder for all who lead a team: It reminds us that it is important to consciously pause in the day-to-day routine to celebrate our victories.
Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, in their seminal book, The One Minute Manager, remind leaders to pay attention to those we lead and to, “Catch them in the act of doing something right.” Their advice is, "point it out!" Maybe even celebrate the victories of our team members as we observe them - whether victories large or small.
Seattle and the Pacific Northwest will be in full celebration mode today. No doubt about it. For those of us who live near, it will be a fun day.
For all of us, near or far, let's take note of this visible display of team leadership - and look for opportunities to celebrate the victories we observe closer to home...the victories of our own leadership teams - and the "wins" we can observe in the lives of those we lead. Because, as the saying goes...
“Behavior that gets rewarded, gets repeated.”