Hello everyone,

Next up on our journey through Leadership Seeds—Harvesting the Transformative Lessons of Macie and the Magic Veggies, let me introduce: the Recognition Seed. Like the others we’ve explored (Growth, Gratitude, Content, Wisdom, Discovery, Passion, Relationships, Process), this seed plays an important role in helping us grow as leaders by valuing and acknowledging individual contributions to achieve collective success.

A line from the story: Thanks to you, Farmer Lundyn, my work is almost done.

In Macie and the Magic Veggies, Macie takes the time out of her own work to express her gratitude to Farmer Lundyn, highlighting the importance of recognizing and celebrating the support and assistance received from others. This moment acknowledges that our success is often a collective achievement, and acknowledging the contributions of those around us is vital.

In my professional journey, the concept of celebrations and ceremonies has been integral to two key business practices I’ve implemented: 4DX (The 4 Disciplines of Execution) and Agile.

4DX is a framework that helps organizations achieve their most important goals by focusing on the wildly important, acting on lead measures, keeping a compelling scoreboard, and creating a cadence of accountability. Celebrations are a core component of the 4DX framework, where teams regularly celebrate small wins and milestones. This not only keeps the team motivated but also reinforces the importance of every contribution toward achieving the larger goal.

Agile practices include regular ceremonies such as daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives. These ceremonies provide structured opportunities for teams to recognize and celebrate achievements, both big and small, and to reflect on what can be improved. This continual cycle of celebration and improvement keeps the team engaged and focused.

Incorporating these practices into my leadership style has been incredibly impactful. Building rituals for recognition, like creating an unofficial internal award that is passed among team members, has been extremely effective in building camaraderie. Want an example of the power of this? Just watch the ritual of any major sports team and the joy they take in being recognized by their peers for their efforts during a game with a variety of crazy, but meaningful “awards” including hats, capes, chains, jackets, belts, helmets, swords and even plungers.

Here are a few ways to plant and nurture the Recognition Seed within your leadership style and organizational culture:

Encourage Active Recognition
Regularly acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of team members. This fosters a positive and supportive work environment.

Promote a Culture of Gratitude
Encourage team members to express gratitude for each other’s efforts. This helps build strong, collaborative relationships.

Celebrate Collective Success
Recognize and celebrate team achievements as collective successes, reinforcing the importance of everyone’s contributions.

As we continue to explore the Macieverse through these Leadership Seeds, let’s remember the value of recognizing and celebrating the contributions of others. Understanding and internalizing this principle not only helps us achieve success but also enables us to build stronger, more cohesive teams.

💬 I’d love to hear about the ways you recognize and celebrate team contributions in your work! What strategies have you found effective in fostering a culture of grand collective success?

Let’s grow together in recognition and appreciation! 🥕🍅🥦

Oh, and now that I’ve officially announced that “Macie and the Magic Berries” will be the next book in the Macieverse, I may just have to update Harvesting the Transformative Lessons of Macie and the Magic Veggies to include berries! 🫐🫐🫐

Peter Contardo