Celebrating micro successes under pressure: how to give teams energy when they need it most?

08/12/2025

Once, during the implementation of a new HRIS system, my team was working under enormous pressure.
For the payroll team the stakes were extremely high: payroll had to run flawlessly - the bigger the organisation, the higher the cost of even the smallest mistake. They had been testing for weeks, tired, and it was already close to year-end.


Under constant pressure, they could no longer see their own progress. Even when something went well, it disappeared instantly under the weight of the next task.


As a leader, I felt I need to do something to bring perspective back, something that makes the progress visible. A reminder that the many tiny wins together create a larger forward movement.


I printed J. Howard Miller's famous "We Can Do Tt!" WWII wartime poster, put it on the wall with a big blank sheet underneath and every small success went up on that wall from then. Anything that moved us even a little forward.  The wall slowly filled up. And the team's smiles and hope came back.

Celebrating micro-wins restores what heavy workload can take away: the sense of progress, impact, and strength.


🎁 Solution-focused question and tip for organisations

❓ How can we create a system or ritual where every department regularly makes its micro-wins visible and celebrates them?

💡 Tip for organisationsAsk each department / team to select one area where the pressure is highest right now for them.

  1. Ask each department / team to select one area where the pressure is highest right now for them.
  2. Set up a simple shared "Micro-Wins Wall" . Digital (Miro, Teams, Whiteboard) or physical.
  3. Invite teams to write down one tiny progress or small win every day.
  4.  At the end of the week, each department shares a 5-minute recap: "What went well / better this week?"
  5. Celebrate these wins at organisational level too: prepare a weekly micro-win summary, share them in internal newsletters or all-staff meetings, and highlight one concrete example from each area.
  6. Observe or discuss the impact: has the mood improved? Has tension decreased? Has the sense of progress grown? Has collaboration strengthened?

🎁 Solution-focused question and tip for leaders

❓ How can I regularly make small steps of progress visible within my team and celebrate them?

💡 Tip for leaders

  1. Choose one area or process with your team where your team feels the highest pressure right now. If you lead multiple teams, invite each to choose one.

  2. Create a "Micro-Wins Wall" together — physical or digital.

  3. Ask the team to write down one small step of progress every day for two weeks.

  4. At the end of the two weeks, discuss the impact: has the mood shifted?Has  energy increased? Have they found it easier to notice progress?

  5. Decide together how to turn this into a regular practice.