The Power of Small Wins in Building Momentum
In our quest for massive, game-changing success, we often fall into a dangerous trap. We set huge, audacious goals—double our revenue, disrupt an industry, transform our culture—and then stare up at the mountain, paralyzed by its size. This “all or nothing” approach is inspiring in a kickoff meeting, but it is terrible for human motivation. The path to that huge goal seems long, abstract, and uncertain, which leads to procrastination, frustration, and burnout. We have it backward. The secret to achieving big things is not to focus on the giant, distant peak. It is to focus on the next small, visible step. The “Progress Principle,” a concept from Harvard professor Teresa Amabile, states that the single most powerful motivator at work is not money, recognition, or passion, but simply making *progress* in *meaningful* work. Small wins are the engine of this progress, and they are the key to building unstoppable motivation, progress, and performance.
A “small win” is a concrete, tangible, and visible step forward. It is a “chunk” of progress that the team can see and celebrate. The power of these wins is neurological. Each time we complete a task and achieve a small win, our brain releases a small “hit” of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. This creates a powerful feedback loop. The win feels good, so we are motivated to take the next step to get another win, which feels good, and so on. This is how you create a virtuous cycle of motivation. This “dopamine-driven” progress is the antidote to the paralysis of a large, abstract goal. It is the fuel that keeps a team engaged and moving forward, even when the final destination is far away.
Momentum: The Most Underrated Force in Business
Small wins are the building blocks of a powerful, and very real, organizational force: momentum. A team that is “stuck” feels heavy, slow, and demoralized. Every task is a slog. A team with momentum feels light, fast, and unstoppable. They are “on a roll.” This feeling is not magic; it is the direct result of a consistent, visible string of small wins. Like a flywheel, the first few turns are the hardest. Getting that first small win takes the most effort. But the next win is a little easier, and the next one easier still. Soon, the flywheel’s own weight is working *for* you. This is why a team that has just successfully launched a small feature is often immediately energized to tackle the next, bigger bug. They are riding a wave of positive momentum. A leader’s job is to stop waiting for momentum to happen and start *engineering* it by breaking down big goals into a clear path of small wins.
How Leaders Can Engineer Small Wins
You cannot leave progress to chance. A leader must be the chief architect of small wins for their team. This is a practical, tactical skill that is essential for driving performance.
1. Break It Down, Then Break It Down Again: Your most important job is to be the “Chief De-complexifier.” Take your team’s massive, one-year project and break it down into a series of two-week “sprints” or one-month milestones. Then, break *those* down into a clear, weekly checklist of achievable goals. The goal is to ensure that *every single week* (ideally every single day), each person on your team can check a box and feel a sense of completion. This transforms a marathon into a series of 100-meter dashes, making it feel manageable and motivating.
2. Make Progress Visible: This is the most crucial step. A win that no one sees is not a win. Progress must be made *visible* to have a motivating effect. This is why agile teams use Kanban boards, Trello boards, or simple to-do lists. Moving a card from “In Progress” to “Done” is a powerful, physical act of a small win. A leader should use team meetings not just to plan future work, but to *review* completed work. “Let’s look at all the items we moved to ‘Done’ this week. Great job.” This simple act makes the team’s progress tangible.
3. Celebrate Them Publicly: Do not save all your recognition for the final project launch. This starves your team of the very “reward” that keeps them going. You must “catch” your team doing things right. Acknowledge the small wins publicly. A “shout-out” in a team meeting, a simple “great job” in a group chat, or a team-wide email celebrating a completed milestone—these small acts of recognition amplify the psychological power of the win. It tells the team, “What we are doing matters, and the leadership sees it.”
The Role of Small Wins in Change Management
When you are trying to drive a large, difficult organizational change, small wins are not just helpful; they are essential. The natural response to a big change is fear and resistance. A leader’s grand vision of a “transformed future” is met with skepticism. To overcome this, you must engineer and celebrate *early, visible wins*. Find a small, simple part of the change you can implement quickly and successfully. For example, if you are rolling out a new, complex software, find one small feature that will save everyone 10 minutes a day and roll *that* out first. When the team sees this small win, it does two things: 1) It provides tangible proof that the change is *good* and not just a hassle, and 2) It builds your credibility as a leader. These early wins are what build the trust and momentum needed to get buy-in for the harder parts of the change to come.
Conclusion: Focus on the Next Step
Big goals are good for direction. Small wins are what get you there. Stop being mesmerized by the distant, massive goal. Your team’s motivation and performance are not fueled by someday’s victory, but by today’s progress. As a leader, your job is to be the architect of that progress. Break down the work, make the progress visible, and celebrate the small wins relentlessly. This is how you build a culture of high performance, how you create unstoppable momentum, and how you turn an impossible-looking mountain into a simple, one-step-at-a-time journey.
