Brent Colescott

Leading Innovation in Learning

Wednesday Words meets Good News Friday

Wednesday Words meets Good News Friday

It’s been almost a year since I posted “The Team Blog”  a homage to post-season baseball, but also a tip of the hat to my former and current teams at work.  What a difference a year makes.  Over the past 12 months I have had the honor to lead one of the best Teams ever!  As a leader of people, I’ve followed three pillars; Communicate, Collaborate and be Transparent.  Those principles have manifested themselves into a weekly e-mail I started exactly one year ago this week; Good News Friday.

Good News Friday is a combination of Inspiration (I always start with a week appropriate quote), Communication of what’s happening in the department and company, ending with peer Recognition of accomplishments.  Now, 52 e-mails later it’s time to celebrate this wonderful milestone.  

Born out of the need to regularly update my team with information, the weekly e-mail has broken down silos while also recognizing team members for outstanding work.  Each week I ask my team leadership for their “Shout Outs.”  It can be anything they want to share.  Ultimately, I would say this is a “Feel Good” Weekly Status Update.  But I think the Team finds this more than that.

Every now and then I’ll get a response, often separate from the e-mail, but a definite “ROI” on energy.  A couple of my favorite notes include the following:

I sometimes log in late on Fridays just to catch the Good News email and start the weekend off positively. I really look forward to seeing all the amazing things this team accomplishes day after day.

I read it out loud to my husband + kids (who don’t know what it means at all) like it’s a bedtime story almost every week

There is plenty of evidence to show that those who feel appreciated and recognized for their efforts will always give you their best work.  The professional relationships across this team are some of the best I’ve ever had. I’ve referred in other blogs to what I believe makes a championship caliber team in sports.  It’s the ones where everyone contributes versus rallying around a “tentpole” star player.  This Team is a Team of All Stars for sure!

Good News Friday has been a surprise to me both in its longevity and impact.  In fact, one or two other “Good News Fridays” have popped up across the company.  With all that’s going on in the world these days I want to do what I can to highlight the good that still happens around us.  I would highly recommend finding a way to share the Good News regularly that’s happening on your own teams; you’ll find it’s well worth the effort.  Here’s to the 53rd installment coming out this Friday!