Celebrate the Wins

 Roy F. Baumeister and Ellen Bratslavsky’s research presents a powerful and wide-ranging argument: negative events, emotions, and feedback exert a stronger and more lasting impact on human psychology and behavior than positive ones.

Simply and sadly, Bad is Stronger than Good.

Evolutionarily, this makes sense. Feeling good about the smell of the flowers was less important than recognizing the Sabretooth tiger hiding in the jungle. Missing the flowers had negligible impact when compared to missing the tiger. Evolution taught us to react quickly to danger while letting positive moments drift by. That bias still shapes workplaces today. Our criticism as leaders—even when well-intended—lands with more force than praise. A single setback will be remembered far longer than the accomplishment. Teams feel losses much more acutely than wins.

Across relationships, teams, and individual well-being, researchers have found a similar pattern: positive interactions need to outweigh negative ones for growth and success. Psychologist Marcial Losada suggested that high-performing teams thrive when positive interactions outnumber negative ones by roughly 3:1. In marriage research, John Gottman found that stable couples maintain an even higher ratio—about 5:1—of positive to negative moments. Barbara Fredrickson’s work on individual flourishing emphasizes that three positive emotions for every negative one supports resilience, creativity, and health. While the exact numbers vary, the message is clear:

consistently cultivating more positive experiences than negative ones is key to building trust, engagement, and long-term success.

So what does this mean for leadership? It means you have to over-index on the positive. If one negative interaction takes five positives to neutralize, then leaders must actively create a surplus of encouragement, recognition, and psychological safety. Not false cheerleading—but genuine acknowledgment, clear communication, and consistent follow-through.

One of the simplest and most effective ways to do this is to Celebrate the Wins. Transformative leaders Celebrate the Wins.  Big or small, public or private—celebrating progress multiplies the “good” your team feels. It reminds people that their effort matters, that growth is happening, and that you notice. Too often, leaders race from one challenge to the next, skipping over the small victories that could replenish energy and motivation. Even worse, they dwell on the mistakes because “you don’t need to fix what works.” Determined leaders understand that every win you celebrate deposits a bit more trust, optimism, and resilience into your team’s emotional bank account.

Transformative leaders Celebrate the Wins.

This doesn’t mean ignoring problems or sugarcoating reality. It means managing the emotional math. Catch your people doing something right and make a deal of it. When you have to deliver tough feedback, pair it with clarity, respect, and belief in the person’s ability to improve. And perhaps most importantly, go out of your way to find and celebrate the wins.

This doesn’t mean ignoring problems or sugarcoating reality. It means managing the emotional math.

A team member landed a new client? Celebrate the Win publicly. Mention them in a meeting or email that others see. The team finished the project ahead of schedule? Celebrate the Win and take them out for a quick drink or order in coffee and donuts next morning. A colleague handled a tough meeting well? Stop by their office and congratulate them and let them know you noticed. Celebrate the Win!

Sadly, bad is stronger than good. Transformative leaders don’t eliminate the “bad”— they simply understand its disproportionate power. They counteract it with all the “good” they can find. They make sure the good moments speak louder still.

What good can you find today? How can you catch your people doing something right?

How will you Celebrate the Win?