Hi First name,

October (and November!) is full of celebrations rooted in culture. Today, October 31st, many celebrate Halloween — once a way to protect the harvest and honor seasonal transition. In other parts of the world, Diwali marks the victory of light over darkness, Día de los Muertos honors life and memory, and in Portugal (where we write you from), Dia do Pão por Deus celebrates generosity and sharing abundance.

 

What these traditions have in common is simple: celebration is not only about joy, but is also about belonging, meaning, and continuity. Communities pause to acknowledge what matters, to honor what came before, and to reconnect with one another.

 

👉🏼The same can be applied in organizations: a culture of celebration as a way for the team to strengthen trust, recognize effort, and create energy for what comes next.

Back in July, we explored positivity as a leadership practice, drawing on Barbara Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build Theory, which shows how positive emotions expand perspective and strengthen resilience over time.

 

But in the rhythm of organizational life, celebration often gets sidelined. The cycle is usually: set goals, chase results, meet deadlines, move on. You pause to analyze when things don’t go well — but rarely pause to honor what did.

 

In Gottman’s Emotional Bank Account terms, that means you’re making constant withdrawals without enough deposits. The unspoken assumption is that “success speaks for itself,” or worse, that pausing to celebrate wastes precious time.

 

Humans are wired for vigilance: scanning for what could go wrong, anticipating the next challenge, focusing on the gap instead of what’s been achieved. Left unchecked, vigilance creates cultures where people feel unseen, where accomplishments blur into exhaustion, and where the next “big push” lands on depleted ground.

 

Celebration isn’t separate from strategy — it fuels it.

And here’s the real shift: when you celebrate with intention, your team begins to understand not just where they’re headed, but who they are within that journey. That’s what sparks care, ownership, and the willingness to take on new initiatives with energy and responsibility.

 

Think of celebration as part of the rhythm of leadership. Just like in nature, harvest festivals come before winter. They are preparation, not just reflection.

 

In fact, celebration often opens the door to reflection. It’s the moment of energy and connection that allows people to pause, look back with perspective, and step forward with renewed strength. It’s the fuel for what comes next, both in learning and in action.

 

For instance, the midnight toast on New Year’s Eve celebrates what’s coming, not what just passed; a wedding celebrates the beginning of a shared journey, not the years already lived; and for long-distance runners, the “big meal” happens before race day 😁(a celebration that also builds the energy needed for the challenge ahead.)
 

Organizations can learn from this. Celebration isn’t just about patting ourselves on the back once results are delivered. It’s also about creating collective energy that fuels trust, positivity, and connection, preparing your team not only to close the year with clarity, but to step into 2026 with strength and alignment.The challenge that we often see, though, is that most leaders don’t know how to ingrain celebration into the team’s culture.

But there are practical ways to do it, and we are here to guide you on this process.

 

✅Iterations of positivity

Big parties are great! But what truly shifts culture are the small, repeatable acts of recognition that, over time, add to the Emotional Bank Account. Often almost unnoticeable, these steady deposits counterbalance the constant withdrawals that happen in daily work. Instead of relying on one huge celebration as a single “deposit,” it’s smarter (and far more sustainable) to invest in the smaller, ongoing gestures that keep trust, energy, and connection alive.

🌿 Consider: What would shift if every week, someone on your team felt genuinely seen?

✅ Feedback as celebration

Too often, feedback is framed as fixing what’s wrong. But learning sticks more deeply when people hear what’s working.

 

Start feedback conversations by naming the specific actions, choices, or qualities that made an impact. Leave space for the other person to reflect and self-adjust before you jump in with “advice.”

✅ Pre-celebration as strategy

Don’t wait until the finish line. Before launching a major project or entering the year-end sprint, gather your team for a moment of intentional positivity. Invite them to share what they’re excited about, what strengths they’ll bring, and what they’re proud of so far.

This “pre-celebration” builds collective energy and sets a hopeful tone for the work ahead.

🌿 Consider: Before your next big initiative, how might you fuel your team with a celebration of potential, not just past results?

As we move deeper into Q4, strategy will continue to dominate conversations. But remember: even the best-laid plans need fertile soil to take root. That soil is culture — the trust, engagement, and cohesion you cultivate through everyday acts of recognition and celebration.

 

👉🏼 And if you want to weave more celebration and iteration into your leadership, explore The Leadership Reset Workbook — practical tools to bring positivity and alignment into your team’s rhythms.

 

At Fierce Up, we believe celebration is a leadership strategy. And we’re here to help you make it part of your system.

 

Warmly,