Celebrate is NOT a Dirty Word
We’re conditioned in the nonprofit world to skip over the celebration of the accomplishments happening within our own organizations and teams. Don’t get us wrong, we understand it’s difficult to celebrate our accomplishments (the big and the minor ones) when there are more people to reach, more houses to build, or more food to distribute everyday. When you enter the nonprofit world you are most likely entering a culture that doesn’t share proud moments as often as it should, a culture that views ‘celebration’ as a dirty word.
When you work for a mission driven organization it’s easy to feel like your work is never done. Which truthfully, it probably isn’t. Strategic plans often feel like a never ending to-do list. After 5 years of meeting fundraising goals and reaching stellar benchmarks, the time comes to put our heads together and immediately move onto the next project. This churn doesn’t leave a lot of room to celebrate the work that's been accomplished. What if we told you taking the time to celebrate could accelerate the way your organization plans and carries out the work?
First, let’s talk about what we mean when we tell organizations to celebrate their progress. There are plenty of ways to define a celebration, at See What I Mean we like to describe celebrations as moments to regularly reflect, acknowledge and honor the work completed or underway, and recognize and appreciate the assets your organization is able to build upon for a better future.
We recently helped the amazing team at the Northern Illinois Food Bank to celebrate their progress in advancing neighbor centered practice. Food Bank leaders asked for this time of reflection before diving into their new strategic planning process. We even brought confetti poppers to help them cheer each other on! Highly recommended. We were so inspired by the power of celebration to propel their planning for the future, that we decided we needed to remind everyone that celebration is NOT a dirty word!
Four ways a celebration can accelerate your organization’s planning process:
1. It highlights the diverse strengths of our community: Asking open ended questions like “what is something you’ve done recently that you’re proud of?” builds trust and develops a sense of belonging within a group of people. If you don’t ask these questions you might never know what skill sets and talents your team has. When you only ask for reports on a department basis, you’re only going to hear about the things being done for the plan that you wrote. These open ended questions help you see assets from which you can build in new ways.
2. It helps us leverage the full power of our existing capacity: At SWIM we work with organizations doing amazing work in effective ways… already. Celebration asks us to acknowledge what’s working and gives us a pause to consider how we can adapt our core competencies towards a new vision. Once we’ve leveraged our existing power we can consider what needs to be added to meet our future goals.
3. It breaks down departmental silos: Departments often operate as silos. Working with the same people everyday means you might not have the chance to see what is going on in other areas of the organization. Celebration is a way to break down those silos, take the time every few months to connect with other teams and discuss the good work being done. Celebrate together.
4. It aligns the work with the mission: Taking time to celebrate can improve your outcomes as an organization. Reflection helps people see and understand alignment between actions and purpose. Actions + reflection can lead to shifts in mindsets that accelerate the outcomes you want. Don’t get so caught up in the DOING that you forget to BE the organization and leader that you have set out to be. Dig deeper in championing the do-be-do cycle described in a blog from SWIM founder, Stephanie Clohesy here.
What could celebration look like in your current plan? Let us know! Until then, enjoy the magic of a few confetti poppers!
Northern Illinois Food Bank staff celebrating confetti poppers before jumping into their new strategic plan!
Have a current plan that feels like a 5-year long to-do list? Need help bringing celebration to a strategic plan? Let’s connect! The first call is always free.