Leaders tap into the strength of their community to celebrate their team. They engage employees, customers, and more using a mixture of strategies like engagement and Pulse Check surveys to strengthen workplace culture.
“You’ve got me- but who’s got you?” One of my favorite lines from the original Superman movie (Lois Lane) has stuck with me since I first heard it as a 5-year-old in 1981. Back then, it just made me smile. Now, it feels like a life question. Because in all the work we do- in education, nonprofit leadership, healthcare, construction, and more- I often think: you’ve got your community- but who’s got you?
The Power of Positive Feedback in Leadership
At Possip (yes, we’re a mashup of “positive + gossip”), we root ourselves in celebration. As an Enneagram 7 (aka “the cheerleader”), I believe in the power of joy, recognition, and uplift. Over and over, in school districts, nonprofit teams, and healthcare settings, we see how positivity fuels resilience, success, and winning!
What Research Shows About Positive Feedback
In a quasi-randomized field study, researchers found that receiving positive feedback had a causally favorable impact on subsequent performance, while negative feedback didn’t meaningfully improve performance. –> ARXIV
Psychology Today reports that fewer than 40% of employees feel adequately recognized. Psychology Today
Positive feedback doesn’t just affirm what’s working- it signals trust, reinforces desired behavior, and gives people a sense of meaning and momentum in their work. In HBR, one article argues that feedback framed well helps employees feel seen, connected, and purposeful. Harvard Business Review
In short: positive stories and positive feedback aren’t fluff. They are strategic assets.
Listening to Your Community = Mining for Celebration
If your team, community, or constituents were your biggest fans, what would they say about you?
Surveys and voice tools. Whether via school feedback, patient experience data, or employee pulse surveys, you can intentionally ask for praise as well as critiques.
Open prompts for gratitude and uplift. Instead of just “what could we improve?” ask “what’s going well?” or “where did you feel supported?”
Story collection processes. Build a “story bank”- a place (digital or physical) where people can anonymously or openly share moments that mattered.
Peer-to-peer shoutouts. Create a culture or system where people celebrate one another, not only upward to leaders.
Share back what you heard. Publishing “stories of what’s working” in your newsletter, staff meeting, or report reminds people they are seen.
Nonprofit leaders often call storytelling their superpower- not because stories replace data, but because stories humanize data. Stories make metrics memorable, authentic, and emotionally resonant. -> National Council of Nonprofits+2Bridgespan+2
Questions to Pause With (and Share)
Who champions you– inside or outside your organization?
Where do you (or your team) find positivity in the day-to-day grind?
If you asked your community to say what’s going well in your work, what might they say?
How can you build routines, structures, or feedback loops where positive stories are actively collected- and celebrated?
We believe celebration isn’t optional. It’s essential. Our customers say the #1 thing they love about Possip is the praise they get.
As you lean into strategy, operations, data, and growth, don’t let the celebration slip. Because you’ve got us- now let us cheer for you.
What’s your organizational praise language? How do you like to give – and receive – positive feedback?
