In my home, we celebrate every Friday by going out for donuts. We savor our donut Fridays and the mini-celebration of getting through another week. It's a fun tradition and a mini-boost of energy for us as we go into the weekend — something we anticipate with excitement each week.

I enjoy a good celebration. And here at Hologram, we find a lot of things worth celebrating.

We start our weekly meeting by sharing our wins. Sometimes we share them aloud, but more often we drop our wins in Slack so that everyone can read them and react. These can be business wins or personal wins — but more often than not they are a little less glamorous and a little more "every day," like cooking an amazing meal, small parenting successes, or seeing a lovely sunset. We love seeing our team bring their authentic selves to work in this way.

Why do we start our meetings with wins?

Sharing our wins drives engagement for the meeting. When someone takes a moment to share something they're excited about, they suddenly have renewed stake in the meeting as a whole. It fosters buy-in. We've found our team to be more actively engaged in meetings where they have the opportunity to share, even if it's just by dropping a quick message in Slack.

Research shows that sharing personal wins and reading the accomplishments of others can boost both our mood and our productivity. Even on a tough week, we've seen that sharing and reading wins can have a "fake it till you make it" affect — rubbing off a little productivity and cheer to turn your mood around. Research has also shown that even just thinking about sharing with others can make you happier. A small moment to share can create big progress.

Even if you start the week with a Leslie Knope level of enthusiasm, by Thursday afternoon when we share during our Wind Down meeting, you likely need a little boost. We've found some teams enjoy sharing their wins so much that they incorporate sharing in their internal meetings each week, too.

In addition to wins, another way we build good vibes on the team is by dropping a photo or two into Slack on Friday mornings. This is a great opportunity for the team to connect and interact and show something a little more personal. Celebrating the successes of my team, however big or small, and getting to see photos of their plants, kids, and puppers, gives me a jolt of excitement and energy to push through my work and GSD.

Sharing our wins also creates value and helps our teammates find their place. By making space to share ourselves and our wins, we are telling our team that they matter and that they have our support — that they have a place here at Hologram.

Every photo, every small victory or positive moment, helps create a sense of community and celebration amongst a team where the majority of us have never even met in person. Sharing our wins and photos says "you matter here, and we're cheering you on."

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