Are you celebrating your team’s victories? (120-4)

Wise leaders understand the importance of celebration after a major victory. Read Nehemiah 12:27-43.

The small contingent of Jews under Nehemiah’s leadership had accomplished the impossible task of rebuilding over one mile of wall around Jerusalem in 52 days. They had taken heaps of rubble and transformed them into a massive wall complete with impressive, fortified gates and several guard towers. The people had worked through exhaustion and with their enemies threatening attacks day and night.

Nehemiah acknowledged a job well done with a dedication and celebration. Verse 27 says, “At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with music of cymbals, harps, and lyres.” Verses 31-39 say, “I had the leaders of Judah go up on top of the wall. I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks. One was to proceed on the top of the wall to the right …the second choir proceeded in the opposite direction…” Nehemiah filled the city with music and such a festive atmosphere that it was recorded with equal detail to the construction of the wall. Nehemiah knew the importance of celebrating a job well done.

To my great discredit, I assume victory and even before one victory is being recorded I have moved on to the next goal and immersed myself (and dragged my team) into the action of moving on the new goal. During my years in leadership of World Wide Pictures I learned a valuable lesson from, of all people, the controller. We had completed two or three films over a two year period and were well down the road toward the next when the controller came into my office and flatly stated that we had not acknowledged the great work God had done to allow us to complete several films. He said, “I don’t care what it costs (when a controller said that it got my attention) we need to stop and have a premiere of our latest film and invite our staff and the cast and crew along with their families.” Based on his wisdom we planned and held a premiere showing of the film and it bore great dividends to the team unity and morale and it gave glory to God in the process.

Have you recently experienced a victory? Has a part of your team had something special happen? The celebration can be as simple as having a luncheon because your accounting team received great marks on a recent audit or your sales team made their annual goal or even your total team managed the budget to within a few percentage points. Effective leaders understand the power of celebrating victories.