energ'y for a new beginning. By celebrating, an ACE team is declaring
it is ready
to move
on.
Many managers ofcourse prefer not to move into this territory, preferring any applause to be a rather private affair. But applause is about public recognition. Its whole power to renew and energize stems from a sense that one is being valued, recognized, considered
worth while. So the impact is muted if applause is reduced to a quiet word in the corridor or a formal moment such as the annual appraisal - vital though these may be. ACE teams seem constantly to find moments to celebrate publicly. They share their successes in uninhibited ways with departmental colleagues, customers, suppliers and even occasionally with competitors. We have heard of teams that set up systems of celebration throughout their day. There are sales groups, for instance, which ring a bell each time someone makes a sale by phone, and the whole place glows in the reflected glory of the person's success.
In the
orchestra pit of the West End musical Ciess there was a violinist who led the musicians. His lively spirit kept everyone on their toes, even though they had played the same music many times. If someone played particularly well, then the leader might throw him a sweet. This tiny and absurd gesture meant a great deal to the musicians, and it all happened out of sight of the public, who only saw the drama on stage.
So ACE teams are continually looking
for opportunities to appreciate each other's achievement - because they
want to. It sounds obvious, yet the point
we're making is that people give
appreciation not because it will help productivit/, or because someone has complained about feeling undervalued. It works because people are genuinely apPreclatrve. Since it makes sense, why does it happen so infrequently? Because problems and pitfalls get in the way and stop it happening regularly.
Problens and pitfalls You cannot easily simulate genuine applause. If not done in an authentic way, it can be counter-productive. The orchestra leader in our story from the West End musical found his own individualistic style. If somebody else took over the tradition and started dishing out sweets, however, it probably would not work. It needs to come naturally from the Person. Some of the blocks that get in the way of a team using and enjoying applause are:
t97