You can’t control the world around you, but you can control the mindset you bring to it and what you focus on quickly becomes the atmosphere you create. For leaders especially, your inner weather sets the tone for everyone around you, making positivity not a façade, but a powerful responsibility, believes High-Stakes Leadership Mentor, Sally Henderson.

Right now, if you read the news and follow industry press the world feels very heavy. And for good reason. We have political unrest, economic challenge and disruption knocking on established ways of doing things. It’s a lot.

You can’t control external environments. But you can control yourself.

It is often easier to slide into worry than it is to stay hopeful. It is like buying a red car and then seeing red cars everywhere. What you focus on, you notice more. If you dial into all the negative chatter, you attract others who feed off negativity. Dial into the positive and you attract more positive. This works as I’ve seen it time and time again through my work and also experienced it myself personally.

As a leader, the lens through which you see the world matters even more. Karen Stacey, CEO of DCM, puts it perfectly: the role of a leader is to set the weather. People look to you to see if it’s sunny or raining. I’m not saying be false or delusional. Far from it. But how you truly feel on the inside connects and impacts others, whether you realise it or not. We’re instinctive beings, we read the unsaid far more than the spoken word.

This newsletter is here to help you stay positive, keep your genuine smile, and feel that nod of recognition, that moment of eye contact across the room that says, I see you. I see your hard work, your effort, your courage under pressure, and I celebrate you.

The 5 layers of celebration

Let’s zoom out

Take a pause to create a timeline of your success over the last 3 years.

Above the line capture your successes and achievements and the impact this has delivered to your business, your people, your leadership, your life.

Below the line capture the challenges you have overcome, the obstacles you smashed through to remind yourself just how far you have come already

Let’s zoom in

Now repeat the time line exercise but go into detail for the last 3 months

Capture the small yet mighty wins that are all to easy to gloss over as well as the big successes

Equally capture the bug bears you’ve put to bed as well as the knarly challenges you have unpicked

Let’s look at your team

What 3 things has the team delivered that’s worthy of celebration over the last 3 – 6 months?

What one positive thing can you find to celebrate each team member so they feel acknowledged, valued, supported and seen?

How can you tangibly say thank you to your team? One event for all or a small gesture to each person? This isn’t about glitz and glamour. It’s about meaning and connection. For some this is a small gift, others a word of praise, others a shared experience – we all have our own love language on how we like to be recognised. Do you know yours?

Let’s look at you!

What are you proud of for your own leadership, growth, resilience etc?
Write a list of 5 things to really capture this

Take this list to a mirror, look yourself in the eye and read out your achievements to a very special person who’s often last on the list of self-care and self-acknowledgement – yes YOU!
Gift yourself something to celebrate you. Maybe take that day off you’ve been meaning to for months, buy that ‘thing’ you’ve been admiring, book the holiday, get the massage, have the lie in. Whatever it is that will make you appreciate you – do it!

Let’s celebrate your significant others

Who in your life has helped and supported you over this year?

Who would you like to say thanks to and why?

Make a list of your top 5 – 10 and find the right way to celebrate them. Again, this doesn’t need to be expensive or time consuming, a text or voicemail to simply say thanks and that you appreciate them, or a card through the post can work wonders! 

When you’ve worked through these 5 Layers of Celebration notice the impact the act of recognition, gratitude and celebration has upon you, your feelings, your thoughts and how you show up inside and outside of work. You may be quite surprised!

Let me know how you get on – I’d love to hear

Sally Henderson is a High-Stakes Leadership Mentor who helps senior leaders and executive teams master their how of high performance when the pressure is on. With over 25 years’ experience, she brings clarity, emotional discipline, and bold action to leadership in complex, high-pressure environments delivered via her REAL Method. Trusted by brands including Accenture Song, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, NatWest, and M&C Saatchi. Find out more atsallyhenderson.co.uk. Sally is a member of The Marketing Society, WACL and volunteer coach for The Marketing Academy Fellowship Programme