How about a party?  Doesn’t that statement just have a way of getting your attention? The idea of getting together with others to socialize and share happiness is always uplifting. Parties offer us something to look forward to. Celebration and the sharing of good times can strengthen relationships and relieve stress.

Many businesses and teams gather together on a regular basis to celebrate birthdays and holidays.  These are great tools to show appreciation, build loyalty and enhance teamwork.  I strongly urge all businesses to take advantage of such opportunities to bring the element of fun into the workplace.

But there is another, often overlooked, opportunity.  This celebration not only offers needed enjoyment, relief and "down time," but actually encourages progress and performance at the same time. Celebrate success!

Celebration of success has a profound motivational impact. Thomas J. Peters, noted consultant and author of In Search of Excellence wrote that you should “celebrate what you want to see more of.” While routine parties are wonderful, they are rarely connected to achievement. When celebrations are tied to performance, they are seen as a reward, creating an added incentive - something tangible to strive for.

There are a wide range of opportunities for celebrating success in the workplace.  Most performance driven organizations have plans with milestones of progress.  They include specific goals for individuals and teams.  Each time a new milestone or goal is reached, you have a new opportunity to celebrate.  These celebrations can highlight a specific employee’s accomplishments or those of a team, department, or the entire organization. The celebrations can include all employees in the business of be limited to a specific workgroup.

Celebrations need not be limited to accomplishments within the confines of the work environment.  Tremendous loyalty can be built by celebrating an employee's personal achievements and recognizing milestones in their personal development. Schools recognize the importance of extra curricular activity to the growth of individuals.  When employees are involved in professional associations and organizations, the employer benefits from enhanced character, teamwork and performance.  Celebrate awards and other achievements beyond the workplace.  Try having a graduation, course completion or awards party!

Finally, don't forget to reward yourself.  My coaching programs emphasize that an individual should celebrate their own successes. It is great if your employer recognizes the value of such celebration, but you don’t have to depend on employers for recognition. You can throw your own party and invite friends, family and co-workers.

This is the perfect opportunity to thank those who have offered support and assistance. When you get into the habit of celebrating your own successes, you will find that each celebration provides greater motivation and a new boost of energy.

When was the last time your team had a party?  Maybe it's time for another one?

How many are the faces of diversity?

We have heard so much about this term, diversity.  In our society, our schools, our government and our workplace diversity is becoming an increasingly important area of study and concern.  Diversity training is mandatory in many sectors and the call for greater understanding seems to have reached nearly every business and organization.  For some the message has even grown stale.  "Do I have to attend another lecture on diversity?"

What comes to mind when you hear the word diversity?  Like many of the "buzzwords" we hear today it tends to be used in a very broad sense while meaning different things to different people.  For many, this term relates to issues of equal opportunity and laws protecting certain classes from unfair discrimination. Some people tend to focus on discrimination regarding race, or religion.  Others consider issues surrounding age or gender.  In my experience, there are additional protected classes commonly considered including ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, political affiliation and veteran status.

But the diversity training of today goes beyond the legal prohibition of discrimination for protected classes and digs deeper, unearthing the concept of tolerance.  Teaching tolerance is more progressive in that it goes beyond prohibitions of discrimination where the law can be applied.  Tolerance is more of a social and personal concern where the concept involves each individual's acceptance of someone who is different.

Of course, teaching tolerance is not limited to schools, consultants or trainers.  Each and every one of us can be a part of the program.  We can share the importance of acceptance with others and, most important, we can lead by example.  We can also remember that tolerance is not limited to the ten common stereotypes I acknowledged above.  To make a significant social impact the understanding of diversity must go farther.

The only thing we all have in common is that we are different.  We come in different sizes and shapes.  We come with different backgrounds, abilities and limitations.  We have different levels of education and different types of experience.  Any one of these differences offers an opportunity for judgment and intolerance.  Each identification of a difference also offers an opportunity for acceptance and inclusion.

When it comes to building successful teams, businesses and organizations, tolerance is not enough.  Great leaders have diversity awareness; they recognize that there is strength in diversity and actually seek it.  These leaders search for diversity, identify the potential value of the differences and capitalize on them.  They build teams with members that are not like each other and different from the leader. 

One key difference is particularly important to success yet rarely sought - a different point of view.  The best decisions and initiatives emerge where different perspectives converge.  It is sometimes difficult to accept disagreement and even harder to admit being wrong.  With diversity awareness, people can accept and respect different points of view, evaluate the strength of each, and emerge with improved clarity and understanding. 

Life is for learning and you have nothing to learn from those who agree with you.

Over the years we have heard numerous motivational references to expectations.  "You get what you expect."  "Always expect the best."  There is a lot of wisdom in these thoughts.  But I have received so many questions and concerns related to unmet expectations in the workplace that I coined a new phrase:  "Great expectations lead to great disappointments."

Such cynicism is totally contrary to my character and requires a bit of explanation.  In truth, the problem is not “great expectations” but unreasonable expectations and even more often, expectations that have not been clearly communicated.

This phenomenon is not isolated to business.  I believe that in all relationships, those with siblings, parents, children, spouses, employees and supervisors, the most frequent cause of resentment and anger is a failure to meet expectations.  They didn’t do what we expected them to do.  Investigation usually uncovers that these unmet expectations were not clearly communicated.  And rarely, if ever, was there discussion concerning the reasonableness of the expectations.

How often have you become aware that you have disappointed someone only to discover that their expectation differed from what you anticipated -- or worse, was something you knew nothing about?  On the other hand, how often have you taken for granted that someone understood what you expected (even though you never took the time to explain) and become upset when the expectation wasn’t met?

The surprising thing about expectations is that they can often be negotiated.  When we learn to openly communicate our expectations with willingness to compromise, there is usually an acceptable middle ground.  Negotiating expectations can have a very powerful, positive impact on relationships and is likely to result in a much higher rate of success in work and at home.

Here are some tips to help you avoid having great expectations turn into great disappointments.

1.  Always seek clarity regarding what others expect of you.

2.  Be open concerning how reasonable the expectations from others feel to you.

3.  Never underestimate your ability to negotiate expectations. 

4.  Share openly and directly what you expect of others and be willing to negotiate those as well.

5.  Expectations that are challenging will lead to increased effort and improvement.

6.  Expectations that are unreasonably high lead to frustration and negativity. 

Remember, expectations travel on a two-way street.  Don't get broadsided.