Jack Welch puts celebrations in his top eight traits of a leader, that is how important it is. As he says “Work is too much a part of life not to recognize moments of achievement. Grab as many celebrations as you can. Make a big deal out of them.” Welch was all about making business fun. Realising that it is not life or death but a game you want to win.
Successful senior managers have the knack of making work fun—a quality that often can be seen in how teams perform and enjoy their work. However, for many organizations the “fun” is restricted to obliterating the week with a number of stiff vodkas or half a dozen beers on Friday night.
Some suggestions to make work more fun in the office are:
- Be brave and create a workspace that has colour and energy to foster a successful attitude.
- Celebrate success—one company has a newsletter called the Success Express.
- Create “CEO bouquets” gifts of either flowers, theatre tickets, or restaurant vouchers that are given out weekly for outstanding achievements.
- Put guidelines on the percentage of time that should be invested in management meetings, board papers, and so on, and monitor these time periods.
You may wish to read an extract from my Winning Leadership Whitepaper, this paper can be purchased from my website.