If I’ve ever offered you work-related advice, I’ll at some point have mentioned a ‘win sheet’.
In fact, as I wrote in an email to my team a few weeks ago, “I know I bang on about this quite a lot!”
My point for creating one is not to give you an extra admin task on top of your day-to-day, but to inspire you to create a personal resource to note down your amazing work.
And then use it too!
But, before we dive in, please stick around to the end where I’ll explain why I’m standing in front of a camera with what I promise is not an intentional blue steel pose!
We’re all different, so are our wins
A win sheet is personal.
It’s as close to your rawest thoughts and emotions as you’ll get without writing a diary, daily work journal (hi 👋) or doing therapy.
That last one is perhaps a little dramatic, but I stand by the importance of creating something to track your success, in whatever format works for you – scrapbook, screenshots, detailed Excel sheet with sections, links and reference points…
Yes, I’ve been known to do that last one!
If we’re not able to be self-reflective then we don’t learn from our mistakes and we can’t progress with whatever we’re trying to achieve.
Don’t let what others see as normal and easy, diminish your own achievements. A company-wide presentation for some is a walk in the park, but for others it sounds like something they would never do – let alone dream of doing.
In fact, a presentation to your team is more than enough for many of you!
Here’s some inspiration on what you could use as a win:
Personal feedback
Public praise
Leading a meeting
Speaking up in a meeting
A presentation
A wicked social post
Campaign launch
Putting yourself out of your comfort zone
Something you’ve never done before.
Let’s not forget, it doesn’t just have to be work-related either – so if you’ve started a new gym class (not me obviously!) or hit a personal milestone, why not celebrate it?!
You can choose to track these for personal development and self-reflection, but don’t be afraid to connect them back to work as well.
Particularly if you can see direct parallels with their impact on your work, and vice versa.
Why tracking your wins matters
There are some big work-related reasons why we should all track our wins.
Some are dry, but important, others are just important.
Firstly, we can’t remember everything and anything we’ve done in a year, especially when it comes to appraisal time (yes this is a reason!)
If you’ve got in the habit of recording some of those wins over that year, it makes completing that appraisal document a bit easier.
But it’s not meant to just build up to a once-in-a-year meeting. Your win sheet can be relevant all-year round:
Reminders for your 121s
Something to share in your team meetings
To show personal growth
Something to read when you’re having a bad day
Something to read when imposter syndrome strikes
To help you think “look what I did!” and not just “thank god that’s over”
Just because…
The personal reasons are perhaps even bigger.
I’ll end with this
There aren’t many better feelings in management than when someone proactively tells you what they’ve added to their win sheet.
It shows they’re owning what they do and, more importantly, taking pride in it too.
Because, and please trust me on this, the more you revel in your wins, the more you’ll have. You’ll get better at adding to that list, but also at seeing the nuances in what you’ve done, why they really are wins, and why you should feel proud.
Critically, the more wins you add, the more you’ll have to look back on for self-reassurance during those horribly low moments when you don’t feel anywhere close to winning.
This is when it matters most.
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Picture explained… In 2023 I stood in for my wonderful colleague Manisha, and filmed a pre-recorded presentation for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System's Virtual Wellbeing Week.
Filmed in front of a team of video and tech specialists at an agency in Shrewsbury, and five cameras, I was presenting all-things Blue Light Card-related.
It was all done in one take too!
Of course, I added it to my win sheet.
My win sheet is only something I started towards the end of last year. It’s still a working progress and I definitely need to include more detailed information, particularly when celebrating the ins and outs of a campaign launch for example, but I’m starting to get the hang of not downplaying my wins which is a win in itself!