Why the Small Wins Matter Most

(Blog #7)

It is easy, in leadership, to focus on the big goals: school improvement targets, strategic plans, major initiatives. These things matter, but they can also make us overlook something equally powerful, the small wins that happen every single day.

Today, walking through the school, I noticed a simple interaction: a teacher quietly celebrating a student who had finally grasped a tricky concept they’d struggled with for weeks. No announcement, no certificate, just a sincere moment of recognition. That moment will stay with that student. Just as the teacher’s sense of quiet accomplishment will fuel their next effort.

Leadership is often about helping people see these moments, to value them, to name them, to understand that they are the heartbeat of progress. When we learn to celebrate the small wins, not as lesser achievements, but as essential ones, we build cultures of resilience and growth.

So today’s reflection is this:

What small win, in your school, your team, or your own leadership, could you notice and celebrate today?

Often it is the small steps, not the big leaps, that sustain momentum.

Mark Pollitt, Founder of Seeds of Knowledge