The early bird gets the worm.
Some leaders who have tried recognition complain that one or two of their people think they are insincere. Upon investigation, we often find that the way recognition is handled is a large part of the problem.
In one case, a manager complained about an employee publicly praising herself before he could do it and then being suspicious of her manager’s later praise. We taught the manager to make recognition events more timely and to add specific praise with stories. Remarkably, the problem soon evaporated.