From Task to Triumph: Helping Clients Acknowledge What’s Working

In coaching, the role of acknowledgment is often focused outward—what the client is doing, thinking, learning, shifting. But there’s a deeper thread worth exploring: the client’s personal relationship with celebration. How do they relate to acknowledging their own progress, effort, or growth? Do they pause to notice and integrate wins, or move quickly on to the next goal?
This is not a superficial exercise in positivity. Rather, it’s a grounded and strategic practice supported by neuroscience and the Positive Intelligence framework. As coaches, exploring this area with clients can shift not only how they view themselves, but how they sustain growth.

The Inner Critic’s Resistance to Celebration

According to Shirzad Chamine (Positive Intelligence), our inner Saboteurs often resist celebration. They minimise our successes, telling us it’s not enough, not finished, or nothing special—just “what we were supposed to do.” For high achievers in particular, acknowledging progress can feel indulgent or unnecessary. But by skipping these moments of recognition, we miss valuable opportunities to boost motivation through positive reinforcement.
This avoidance is reinforced by long-held mental habits. Clients often focus on gaps, errors, or what’s next. While this drive can support performance, it often undermines wellbeing and confidence in the long run. Without noticing what’s working, clients may feel they’re constantly falling short—even when they’re making meaningful strides.
In this way, celebration becomes a mindset shift, not a performance.

The Neuroscience of Noticing Wins

Recent research in behavioural psychology and neuroscience supports the value of recognising and celebrating progress. When individuals intentionally notice success or small wins, the brain releases dopamine, the ‘feel-good’ hormone. This dopamine reward reinforces the behaviour, increasing the likelihood of repeating it.
This applies not only to outcomes but to effort and practice. When a client acknowledges showing up for a difficult conversation, following through on a value-aligned decision, or catching an old pattern midstream, they reinforce the identity shift behind the action.
As coaches, we can support clients to slow down and reflect—not just on what happened, but on how they responded, what it required of them, and what it reveals about their growth.
This is closely aligned with PCC Marker 7.5, where the coach ‘invites the client to consider how to move forward, including resources, support, and potential barriers.’ Celebration can be part of that resource-building process—where the client realises they already have strengths, momentum, and resilience to draw from.

A Recent Example: Pausing to Celebrate the Process

In a recent coaching session, one of my clients—a senior leader navigating a difficult restructure—was reflecting on a tough but necessary decision she had made. Her focus was on what steps needed to happen next. I directed her attention back, asking how she had managed to stay aligned with her values in that moment. She paused, visibly surprised by the question. She hadn’t thought about that.
With space, she began to see how she had accessed courage, clarity, and care—qualities she wanted to strengthen as a leader. We spent time exploring that. At the end of the session, she shared that it felt different to recognise the how of what she had done, rather than just measuring it by outcomes.
This is a clear example of Competency 8: Facilitates Client Growth, particularly PCC Marker 8.5, where the coach ‘partners with the client to reflect on learning and insight.’ The reflection itself became a form of celebration—not exaggerated or performative, but grounded in self-awareness and integration.

Practical Coaching Approaches

To support clients in deepening their relationship with celebration, you might explore:

• Observation and Language: Notice when the client achieves or demonstrates something important and reflect it back neutrally but clearly.
• Curious Inquiry: Ask how it felt to make a values-aligned choice or to complete something difficult. What does it reveal about who they are becoming?
• Anchor Moments: Invite the client to pause and mark a win. This could be a breath, a journal note, a gesture—something that creates a physical and emotional connection to the moment.
• Resourcing the Future: Explore how this success (large or small) can be used as a resource in future challenges. What did they learn about their capacity or approach?

Encouraging clients to celebrate doesn’t mean focusing only on the positive. It means helping them build a balanced and integrated internal narrative where growth is noticed, not taken for granted. It takes intention to see success, especially when high standards and critical self-talk want to blur the picture.

Make Celebration a Coaching Habit

As a coach, your own relationship with celebration matters. Are you acknowledging your impact, progress, and development? Do you create space in sessions for reflection, not just action planning?
Experiment with weaving in small celebratory pauses throughout your coaching conversations. Not as an add-on, but as a legitimate part of the learning and growth process. Encourage your clients to recognise what they’re building, not just what they’re fixing.
The brain remembers what is rewarded. Make sure your clients are noticing what’s working—not just what’s next.

Sharing these mentoring moments with you,
Gaye