This is a short and sweet blog.

I want to encourage you to think about celebration. Times are tough for many people and for many organizations. And that’s before we try to make sense of the horrors happening in the world around us.

And in the middle of that, it is hard to find moments to reflect on the small ‘wins’ without being smug or ignoring the challenges. But I am increasingly convinced that taking time to celebrate the small, daily achievements, successes and learning and those of others is part of a healthy mindset and a healthy organization. It is more than practicing gratitude – celebrating is by its very definition a social activity. It is something we do together. Rituals and celebrations are core to our identities, our culture and building community.

Organizations that don’t take time to celebrate what is working, often in challenging times, and celebrate the contributions of their people, may experience more overwhelm, more burnout and more unhappy people. I’ve intentionally written an act of celebration into an organization’s communications plans. We all need to pause and reflect on what’s working, not just on what’s not.

So, here’s my wish for you throughout the year – may you find time to celebrate all the little, day to day wins with each other and not just save it all for your big end of year review.

And in the spirit of celebration, here are some of the things I celebrated in 2023. In fairness, there are some quite big things here.

Community was a key theme for this year – from amazing conversations and unashamed fun as part of the Redefining Communications collective team to working more closely with Comms Rebel and the amazing group of global solopreneurs that are my own collective support network. I am looking forward to growing my Scottish community in 2024 as a member of the CIPR Scotland committee and with IOD Aberdeen & Grampian.

Communication – finally, after five years in business, I have this newsletter and a podcast. If you haven’t listened to A Quick Dip yet, you can now find it on Apple, Spotify and anywhere else you listen to podcasts. A huge thank you to all my guests. I’m planning now for Season 2 because there are so many people I want to talk to!

Clients – I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has trusted me this year. It’s been a huge range from a global sustainability non-profit to a locally based non-profit in Cumbria, and from a global DEI consultancy to an intercultural consultancy in Brazil, I’ve learned so much.

Culture – I’ve completed several training sessions with the Cultural Intelligence Center and

there’s more to come. I look forward to sharing all of that with you.

What small wins are you celebrating?

Photo by Kier in Sight Archives on Unsplash