It is possible that so many of us are celebrating the wrong things at work.
We tend to focus on big moments, like closing a deal, launching a product, or getting promoted. These achievements might look sudden, but they are really the result of daily effort and focus.
As I shared in Episode 23, “The Arrival Fallacy”, this way of thinking is a psychological trap. We often think we will only feel fulfilled once we reach the top. But when we get there, the satisfaction fades quickly. If we only celebrate the big moments, we miss out on most of the leadership journey. To build a strong, lasting team, we need to focus on small wins.
The Anatomy of the Micro-Victory
A micro-victory comes from many small steps, decisions, and the moments of progress that we often overlook.
Think back to last week. Maybe you had a whiteboard session where a tough problem started to make sense. Or a planning meeting that ran long because real progress was happening. Or a client call where you finally understood what they needed. These are more than just tasks to finish. They are the repeated actions that help us grow. Just as consistency builds trust (see, Episode 24), these small wins show that our leadership approach is working.
In my own running journey, as I train for my first full marathon by my 50th birthday this spring, I have learned that you cannot wait for mile 26 to feel like a runner. It’s so important to celebrate the miles on the early morning runs and notice the small improvements, like a lower recovery heart rate. Coach Bennett, Nike’s Global Head of Running, puts it well: “Every finish line is a starting line in disguise.” There are no real finish lines. So instead of focusing only on the end, pay attention to each new beginning.
The Neurochemistry of Progress
Why is this important for your team? Because what some call “soft” leadership is actually backed by science.
Harvard researcher Shawn Achor calls the usual way of thinking “the broken formula.” We often believe that if we work hard and reach our goals, then we will be happy. But in The Happiness Advantage, he shows that the formula is actually reversed. Happiness leads to success, not the other way around. When we feel positive, we are more engaged, creative, motivated, and resilient.
The brain’s reward system works best when rewards are frequent. If we only celebrate at the end of the year, our teams miss out on the motivation they need to stay engaged all year. Dopamine helps us learn and solve problems faster, while serotonin boosts mood and motivation. When you recognize a small win, you activate your Leadership Flywheel (Ep. 39), moving your culture toward growth.
The Japanese call this idea Kaizen, which means making steady progress through small changes. If you improve by 1% each day, by the end of the year, you will be 37 times better than when you started. These small wins add up, helping you notice progress and keep going.
The Proximity Gap
The problem is that so many leaders miss these small wins because they are too far from the daily work. When we move up as leaders, they often focus on big-picture items like board meetings and reports, and have a tendency to lose touch with everyday events. If you recall, back in Episode 33, I shared a story about an executive who tried to connect with a team but used so much corporate language that the team felt even more distant.
To help your team through small wins, it’s imperative to stay close to the work. To be clear, this is not about micromanaging, but it is about noticing. When you see someone handle a tough client call well or fix a problem that could have stopped a project, point it out. Don’t wait for the monthly meeting. Recognition loses value the longer you wait to give it.
Strategic Clarity via Celebration
When you celebrate a small win, you are doing more than boosting morale. You are providing strategic clarity. When you say, “I love how you handled that disagreement by asking a clarifying question instead of getting defensive,” you are signaling exactly what behaviors create the Gold Standard in your organization.
This is exactly how you avoid the “Promotion Trap” we discussed in Episode 36, where we promote people based on results but fire them because they never learned the leadership behaviors required to sustain those results.
Celebration is a form of coaching. It is the most positive way to reinforce the guardrails of your culture.
The impact spreads. Achor’s research shows that when leaders encourage positivity, their teams become more productive and creative. Happier team members achieve better results. These results create what Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles call “Raving Fans”: customers and stakeholders who love to talk about your work.
Building a Culture of Recognition
If you want to go from being a boss who tracks numbers to a leader who empowers people, you need a way to recognize small wins:
Acknowledge a micro-victory within 24 hours. The shorter the feedback loop, the stronger the reinforcement.
Celebrate publicly so others see the standard, then follow up privately to explain why it mattered.
End team meetings by asking, “What micro-victory did we have this week that did not make the official report?”
Ask your team to identify your small wins. This fosters two-way gratitude and keeps you accountable.
The Starting Line Ahead
Leadership is not just a title. It is something you practice every day by adapting, supporting, and lifting up those around you. After you achieve something, pause and honor the small steps that helped you get there. Every finish line is really another starting line in disguise.
So don’t wait for the finish line. Celebrate the new beginnings that come every Monday morning.
Lead with purpose. Fuel it with clarity. Deliver it with heart. That is the Gold Standard.
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Reflection Questions
When was the last time you celebrated a small win with your team (or yourself)?
What micro-victory from this past week deserves recognition that you glossed over?
How might your team culture shift if you started naming progress as a discipline rather than an afterthought?
This Week’s Challenge
Identify three small wins from your week. Write them down. Share at least one out loud with someone who contributed. Notice how it shifts the energy in the room and in you.
