Recognize Their Victories

Ken Carty, the Coca-Cola leader I mentioned earlier, has a salt-of-the-earth, unassuming way about him that his followers appreciate. And they acknowledge his commitment to honesty, his stellar industry knowledge, and his decision-making skills. After Ken was selected to head the company’s global procurement function, we talked about his leadership skills and what might lie ahead for him. I expressed concern about his ability to motivate and infuse excitement in the troops by recognizing their strengths and victories, small and large. With Ken’s increasing prominence as a leader and his company’s recent reorganization, offering consistent recognition and praise was in many ways crucial to morale. Ken admitted that he did a pretty good job of recognizing others’ strengths and contributions at performance evaluation time, but he said that he did not praise people on a regular basis.

I cautioned him against running right out and slapping people on the back, saying, “Good job.”

“That’s not your style,” I said. “Find your own way, one that’s comfortable for you, and be sincere about it. But make it happen.”

Later Ken told me that he had kicked off his first meeting for his group with a 3-hour presentation on the organization’s goals and future vision. During that presentation, he recognized 67 different people for their contributions, commitment, follow-through, or perseverance. He did not take an awards ceremony approach; no one was asked to stand and be applauded. He simply wove the success stories into his presentation, making each one relevant to the content. Preparing the presentation took a lot of time and work, Ken said, because he had to learn details about the contributions of individual members. But the results were incredibly effective.

“It was one of the most powerful presentations I’ve ever seen,” one of Ken’s direct reports said. “It was powerful because some of the people he recognized had no idea that he even knew about what was going on in their work.”

Another said: “It was the quiet way he chose to do it. It was his own way. That’s what made it so great.”

Leaders who care about their followers and invest the time to learn what is important to them know that people yearn for recognition and that cash is not king. People who do great work are glad to get paid, but they do not do the work for the paycheck alone.

In a 360-degree survey, a small-business CEO in Philadelphia scored himself high on “positive recognition,” whereas all 11 of his direct reports scored him low. One employee, in his middle fifties, told me: “Positive recognition? I’m thrilled when he says hello to me.” Followers of other neglectful leaders have similar comments:

• “I don’t feel rewarded, and it’s not just about monetary rewards. It’s about making me feel that my work is important.”

• “She seems to have a real knack for devaluing people and their projects.”

• “He makes us feel like we’re not cutting it.”

Leaders who take the time to recognize followers’ efforts and successes are described like this:

• “He acknowledges a job well done.”

• “I appreciate the environment Karla has created, and I enjoy coming to work everyday. She recognizes me when I’m successful and creates opportunities to have my work seen by others.”

• “Cindy is very gracious and consistent in her recognition of good work.”

• “John is quick to say ‘Thank you.’”

• “Joe will drop me a note to let me know I’ve done a good job. I very much appreciate that.”

• “Emily takes time to personally recognize and reward team members.”

Unfortunately, most leaders do not receive these comments from their direct reports. In fact, most employees feel that their managers have great room for improvement in recognizing achievements.

Why don’t leaders make this a priority?

1. I’m too busy.

2. Why should I compliment someone for doing good work? It’s their job. That’s what they get paid for.

3. I don’t see anything to recognize people for.

4. If I compliment one, the others will think I’m playing favorites.

5. They might get a big head and stop doing their work.

6. I don’t need a pat on the back, and I don’t think they really care about it either.

7. I know it’s important, but I forget.

8. When people say they want reward and recognition, I think they mean more money.

9. If I compliment people a lot, I might have a problem when performance appraisal time comes around—they’ll expect top ratings.

Number six comes up a lot. Successful high achievers are often self-starters and intrinsically motivated. If they get a pat on the back, great; if not, no big deal. These are people who will work hard and continually strive for excellence with or without recognition and who do not quite understand others’ need for it. Often, however, when I encourage them to look deeper, they remember a time a compliment was very meaningful or they recall a letter they have kept over the years that told them, “You made a difference to me,” or “You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

Despite plenty of studies that prove the bottom-line benefits and a host of books that give ideas about how to do it, positively recognizing employees continues to be one of the most undervalued and underused management practices. And it does not have to cost a dime.

Many leaders think they do a great job at giving positive feedback and are surprised when their direct reports say otherwise. In a coaching session with Don, a senior vice president at a telecommunications company, he struggled to understand how his team rated him a 3.2 out of 5 on positively recognizing people.

“Barbara, I do it,” he said. “How do you think your children or your wife would rate you on positive recognition?” I asked, explaining that when we are exploring behaviors, we sometimes can translate them from personal life to professional life.

Don said that his son was 30, out of the house, and working in Chicago; then he picked up the phone and called his wife.

“Mariette,” he said, “there’s a woman in my office who wants to ask you a question.”

With a nod from Don, I asked Mariette how, on a scale from 1 to 5, she would rate her husband on positively recognizing her as a partner in their marriage. It was quiet for what seemed like a long time. Don looked at me, and I looked at him. We looked at the telephone.

Finally, Mariette said, “I would give him a 3.” Don winced.

Mariette’s score helped Don own the behavior, and we immediately worked on a plan for improvement. A year later, in a subsequent 360-degree survey, his overall feedback score was significantly improved.

Leaders sometimes genuinely try to send the message that they value their followers’ achievements and contributions, yet their messages are not heard. It may be difficult for employees to see a connection between recognition for their individual work and the box of bagels that’s left for everyone or a banner in the break room that applauds hard work. While group praise usually is appreciated and helps to build a team spirit, employees also want recognition for their individual performance directly from their leader.

Yet, while some leaders excel at recognizing groups of people, most miss the mark in letting individuals feel valued for their own contribution. In November 2002, Baptist Health Care surveyed 1800 employees, asking them about their individual preferences for reward and recognition. Answers— which even outline an employee’s favorite candy bar, restaurant, and pizza toppings—are kept on the company’s intranet site, and employees can change their answers at any time. Managers are expected to know their team members’ preferences and match reward and recognition to each individual.

When David Marco hands out the “President’s Award” at his company’s annual banquet, he does much more than offer a plaque and round of applause. The employees of Marco Ophthalmic, a Jacksonville, Florida-based provider of vision diagnostic equipment, have come to expect president and CEO Marco to present the top leadership award with a lengthy profile of the individual, accompanied by a slide show of pictures he received from the person’s parents after he interviewed them. When Marco discovered that the 2002 winner, Andy Millsom, valued his family above all and even involved them in helping him achieve his sales goals—Millsom’s goals were posted in various places around his house, and his children were known to ask their father, “How much did you sell today, Daddy?”—Marco surprised Millsom by flying his wife in from California for the banquet (the kids were in school). In his speech, Marco said: “I know that your family is important to you, because they told me so. And I know that more than anything you wish they were here. And one of them is.” Millsom’s wife appeared on stage and gave a speech to the employees about her husband before giving him the award.

“The presentation really sent a message that Marco truly values people,” said David Gurvis, chief operating officer for Marco Ophthalmic. “It was the topic of discussion during the whole 2-day meeting.”

Start looking around for opportunities to recognize people. Pick up the phone and call one of your sales reps to acknowledge his or her effort in getting this month’s numbers back up. When you walk out of Monday’s meeting, tell your colleague, “You know, I appreciated that question you asked. I really thought that was important.” There’s no one-size-fitsall formula to recognizing others. The only hard-fast rules are that you are sincere and consistent in your efforts. Also consider the following points:

Longhand does it every time. We connect to a message of words crafted with another’s own hand. Nothing replaces the feeling of reading a handwritten note from your boss. Sometimes the words do not even mean as much as knowing that he or she took the time and made the effort. In Baptist Health Care’s survey, the company found that a written note of appreciation was one of its employees’ most preferred ways of being recognized.

Work it into daily interactions. An unrehearsed moment of appreciation may have a more lasting effect than a loud “Thank you” said into the microphone at the quarterly awards meeting. A minute in the hall or an impromptu duck into another’s office with a quick comment—“You did that well,” “I heard great things about you,” or “You keep getting better”—can make a big impact.

If you are not sure how they want to be recognized, ask. This goes back to what we talked about earlier. A leader should know how each follower defines meaningful praise and recognition. For example, some people actually cringe at public praise. In Baptist Health Care’s survey, the company found that 84 percent of employees wanted verbal thanks that was given privately, whereas only 17 percent said they preferred public praise.

You probably cannot overdo it. I have never met a person who said their boss recognizes them too much.