Good morning! Can you believe it’s the last day of 2019? And the decade? As we count down the minutes until 2020, we’d like for you to read this great article by Marlies McKie on celebrating successes and think of how you will celebrate them, however small or large with your team! It’s the end of a decade! Time to celebrate!
At 6:36 AM, 12/20/19, Boeing launched its Starliner Atlas-V rocket from Cape Canaveral, FL, into orbit. This was an unmanned spacecraft with the mission to dock with the International Space Station the next day. If this mission goes well, the next flight will be with astronauts on board.
There were two control centers, one in Cape Canaveral and one in Houston, monitoring all phases that moved the spacecraft from the launch pad into orbit. The minutes from the countdown to the liftoff until the craft enters orbit and can fly on its own is always the most exciting and tense time. This is when most things can go wrong. A slight oversight or mistake during preparations can have fatal impacts during or after the launch.
The tension in the control centers is at its peak. There is total silence, everyone is staring at their monitors and nervously watching the controls. Every 30 seconds or so, the spokesperson from the control center makes a brief comment about the progress. “One minute until booster separation.” And again, “Thirty seconds until booster separation.” Then, “Booster separation is complete.” And so it goes until the spacecraft is in orbit. For space exploration and StarTrek fans like me, it’s like watching a thriller unfolding with all its excitement.
Finally, the speaker announces, “Starliner has reached orbit and all controls are online and functional as planned.” That’s when the control centers explode with cheering. People jump out of their chairs hugging each other for a job well done. You can feel the loads falling off their shoulders. The relief is obvious and we can only imagine what the pressure must have been for the team to get to this point. Sacrifices of sleep and family time were made for the sake of this mission.
Seeing them celebrate their success made me wonder if we’re taking enough time to celebrate our successes. How often do we master challenges and feel really good about it? How often do we make personal sacrifices for the good of our team and projects to reach a goal? How many times did we create success and not share it with the team?
Successes don’t have to be as huge as a rocket launch to be worth celebrating. Any success that impacts the team and the progress of the company should be celebrated. Teams are happier and more invested when they share and celebrate their hard work. Celebrating successes is a huge morale booster and motivator for any team.
Are you celebrating your successes enough with your team?
