"What leaders preach and what leaders celebrate must be one and the same. If they aren’t, the event will come off as insincere and phone – and the leader’s credibility will suffer." (312)

"They [public celebrations of accomplishment] also help to strengthen recipients by increasing their visibility." (313)

"Service-performance shortfalls are highly correlated with the absence of social support and teamwork. As the researchers point out, “Coworkers who support each other and achieve together can be an antidote to service burnout…. Working with others should be rejuvenating, inspirational and fun.� "(317)

"Recent research indicates, for instance, that “If you have a best friend at work you are significantly more likely to engage customers, get more done in less time, have more fun on the job, have a safe workplace with fewer accidents, innovate and share ideas, feel informed and know that your opinion counts, and have the opportunity to focus on your strengths each day.� And if you report that your manager is a close friend, you are 2.5 times more likely to be satisfied with your job. Friends are not only good for your health, they’re good for your business. The sad fact is, however, that only 18 percent of people report that their organizations offer opportunities to develop friendships at work." (318)

If the above points are true, and I think we can assume they are based on the authors’ credibility, why don’t more places of employment encourage these types of activities? Though there were examples of very expensive and elaborate celebrations in the book, there were many examples that wouldn’t cost a dime beyond a little time and effort. If it’s so easy, why isn’t it done more?

The second essential says that to gain many of the benefits from celebrations and a greater sense of community requires some personal attachment between the leader and the constituents. There are a number of ways this can be accomplished but the easiest way is to be personally involved is to take the time to get to know your constituents and show you care. This relates closely to the sincerity required in the first essential. K&P also relate this essential back to many others in the book such as walking the talk and being true to shared values.

"Remember: leadership is a relationship, and people are much more likely to enlist in initiatives led by those with whom they feel a personal attachment." (321)

"Celebration and community only work when they’re genuine." (322)

"Social interaction increases people’s commitments to the standards of the group and has a profound effect on people’s well-being. Intimacy heals; loneliness depresses." (329)

I appreciated this chapter because I think celebration is something not often done in organizations and when it is done, often it is not done very well. This leads to my largest criticism of the chapter. The authors do a wonderful job of explaining the benefits of celebrating the values and victories, but beyond this single line in the first paragraph:

To some a corporate celebration may seem like a wasteful distraction. You can almost hear the critics say in Scrooge-like voices, “We haven’t got time for fun and games. After all, this is a business.� (307)

They spend no time addressing WHY organizations/leaders don’t celebrate. What are the barriers to this type of activity? If having friends at work or being friends with your manager creates all the benefits listed, but only 18% of organizations offer opportunities to create those friendships, why is that? If the benefits are easily attainable, then why aren’t they always pursued? I imagine some leaders have reasons for not encouraging these types of activities, but then again, maybe it’s just poor leadership training. When I think back over the last ten years of my career I would say in the cases I experienced, it was typically one manager or in one case the owner who discouraged ‘fun’ at work. Unfortunately these people had a lot of power in the organizations. It was strange because these situations often lead to a different type of employee bonding, the after work happy hour ‘bitch’ session bonding. Was that a form of management training at some point? Have all the employees dislike you, thus keeping them from disliking each other and encouraging them to come together as a team? What are other peoples take on this chapter?