Tag Giving Recognition

Recognizing the Importance of Recognition – Part Two

Steve Keating Leave a comment

One of the leading causes of procrastination is lack of know-how. People delay starting a task or project because they don’t know how to begin. They also lack resources and don’t know who to ask for help, if they even have the courage to ask.

I think that’s also one of the big reasons why more people in leadership positions don’t give their people the recognition they often deserve. They know their people need and appreciate recognition, but they aren’t really sure what recognition actually is. They also lack an understanding of the various forms of recognition. So instead of providing their people with meaningful recognition, they provide themselves with the excuse of being too busy to recognize anyone.

So let’s provide some series “know-how” here so there will be no need for the “busy” excuse.

Providing recognition to your team is essential for fostering engagement, boosting morale, and reinforcing desired behaviors. Here are some tried-and-true suggestions for providing truly meaningful recognition to your people.

1. Tailor the Recognition

Know the Individual: Some employees prefer public praise, while others may value private acknowledgment.

Personalized Rewards: Consider their interests, preferences, and professional aspirations.

2. Be Timely

Recognize achievements as soon as possible after they occur. Immediate feedback reinforces the connection between the effort and the acknowledgment.

3. Be Specific

Highlight exactly what the employee did and why it mattered.

Example: Instead of just saying, “Great job,” say, “Your innovative solution to the customer’s issue helped us earn the sale on time and exceeded their expectations.”

4. Use a Variety of Methods

Verbal Praise: During meetings or one-on-one sessions.

Written Recognition: Personal notes, emails, or newsletters.

Formal Programs: Employee of the Month or annual awards.

Monetary/Non-Monetary Rewards: Bonuses, gift cards, extra time off, or experiences.

5. Celebrate Milestones

Acknowledge work anniversaries, project completions, or personal achievements.

Host celebrations for the team’s successes.

6. Encourage Peer-to-Peer Recognition

Implement systems that allow employees to recognize each other, such as a shout-out board or team kudos during meetings.

7. Leverage Technology

Use platforms or apps designed for employee recognition, where contributions can be celebrated company-wide.

8. Incorporate Into Culture

Make recognition a regular practice, not a sporadic event. Encourage leaders at all levels to model this behavior.

9. Focus on Impact

Show how their efforts contribute to the organization’s goals and impact the team.

10. Involve Leadership

Recognition from senior leaders carries weight. A quick message or handshake from an executive can leave a lasting impression.

Examples of Recognition Actions:

A surprise thank-you lunch for the team.

Highlighting an employee in a company newsletter or on social media.

Publicly sharing their achievements in meetings.

Offering professional development opportunities as a reward.

Recognizing team members doesn’t happen by accident. The key is consistency and authenticity. Don’t just say words that recognize people; mean those words. People can sense sincerity and they can also tell when you’re just going through the motions. People who feel genuinely appreciated are more likely to remain engaged and motivated.

But the best reason of all for giving your people consistent recognition is this: they deserve it. And if you’re an Authentic Leader, that is the only reason you should need.

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Recognizing the Importance of Recognition – Part One

Steve Keating Leave a comment

Most people in leadership positions claim to know the value of recognizing their teams. But a solid majority of them provide little to no recognition to their people.

That’s because they are so busy doing the urgent things of management that they have no time to do the important things of leadership. Like recognizing their people, for instance.

I should tell you that when mentoring people who say they are leaders, I am highly critical of those who say they don’t have time to recognize their people. Leadership is about people and it’s only about people. You manage things; you lead people. I’m fine with someone only having time to manage, so long as they stop calling themselves a leader. If you do not have time for people then you do not have time to lead.

People don’t just want recognition; they need recognition. Receiving recognition has a profound impact on individuals. It satisfies several important psychological and emotional needs. Here’s how you help people when you decide to authentically lead and provide meaningful recognition to your people.

Self-Esteem and Confidence
Recognition validates a person’s efforts, skills, and achievements, reinforcing their sense of worth. It can lead to greater confidence in their abilities and encourage them to take on new challenges.

Enhances Motivation
Acknowledgment of hard work often motivates individuals to continue performing well. When people feel their efforts are noticed and valued, they are more likely to maintain or improve their level of contribution. Money gets people to meet the job requirements; motivation causes them to exceed them.

Strengthens Social Bonds
Recognition fosters a sense of connection and belonging. Whether it’s in a workplace, family, or community, being acknowledged by others builds trust and strengthens relationships.

Reinforces Positive Behavior
Recognizing someone’s good work reinforces the specific behaviors or attitudes you want to see repeated. It encourages a culture of positivity and mutual respect.

Reduces Stress and Burnout
Feeling unappreciated can lead to frustration and disengagement. Recognition acts as a counterbalance, providing emotional support and reducing stress.

Fosters Personal Growth
Recognition often comes with constructive feedback, which helps individuals identify their strengths and areas for improvement, aiding in personal and professional development.

Creates a Sense of Purpose
Knowing that their contributions matter gives people a sense of purpose and fulfillment. This can be particularly important in challenging times, reminding them of the value they bring to others.

Regular, meaningful recognition helps cultivate a positive mindset and an environment where individuals feel seen, valued, and inspired to grow. I know it may seem as if you’re too busy to provide regular recognition but the reality is that, when you’re busy so are your people. That’s when they most need recognition.

Authentic Leaders do not mistake the everyday urgent tasks with the vital importance of truly leading their people. They figure out how to do both. In our next post, we will discuss the “how” of providing your people with sincere, impactful, and meaningful recognition. Don’t miss it!

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Consider supporting my efforts with a donation!
I put a significant amount of time and effort into writing a couple of blog posts each week. My primary goal is simple, to help other people. That doesn’t mean a little financial support isn’t appreciated. If you’ve benefited from my efforts and think my posts are valuable, I’d certainly appreciate whatever support you might be able to offer.
But whether you can offer support or not, I’ll continue to try and write a blog that gives back, informs and sometimes even entertains. I hope you enjoy it!

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Personal Motivation

Steve Keating 1 Comment

I wish every person in a position of leadership understood how important recognition is to their people. They don’t just want recognition, they need it. For many people recognition is the fuel for their engine of productivity. 

Most people are people pleasers and one of the people they most want to please is their boss. They want a few things in return for pleasing their boss and one of those things is “credit” or recognition for a job well done. If they don’t receive that credit many of them lose their motivation to continue giving their best effort. 

And that is a mistake. 

None of us should give someone else that kind of power over any part of our lives. 

The most consistently successful people do not look out for recognition and affirmation, they look within. Knowing that they have given their best effort motivates them. Their opinion of themselves is more important than someone else’s. 

We all want the recognition and support of the people we work for. But wanting it and needing it are two very different things. Recognizing your own effort is way more important, or should be, than the recognition of anyone else. 

Absolutely appreciate any and all recognition and support you receive from someone else. But don’t depend on it to keep you going. The only reason you need to continually give your best effort in everything you do is this: YOU deserve your best effort. You deserve to be the best that you can be in all areas of your life. 

That cannot depend on the actions or inactions of someone else. 

Don’t count on someone else motivating you to greatness. Always always give your best effort and whatever you do, you’ll do it great. Tonight before you go to sleep make sure to take a moment to thank yourself for the effort you put forth today. Remind yourself that no matter what was or wasn’t accomplished today that you did your best. 

And that’s all anyone, including yourself, can ask for. 

Some of you know that I’ve been trying out something relatively new over on Twitter. It’s a paid subscription level. That means I post some tweets that are for subscribers only. The tweets I post for subscribers are all video tweets. I post two each weekday, mostly on leadership but also sales and living a better life in general. I’m also way more available for questions from subscribers than I can be for the million plus regular Twitter followers. The investment to see these “subscriber tweets” is $4.99 a month, that’s about 17 cents a day. The videos continue to grow in popularity so clearly a lot of people think they are worthwhile. 

Not only can you invest in yourself with solid video coaching, you can also make a difference in the world too. All the income from my subscribers on Twitter go to help kids with Down Syndrome. 

Just click the purple “subscribe” button next to the regular follow button on my Twitter profile page IN THE TWITTER APP or on a web browser. http://twitter.com/leadtoday Give it a try if you’re so inclined, and if you are, be sure to let me know how I’m doing and what topics you’d like to see me address.

How to Lead and How Not to Lead – One more in a periodic series 

Steve Keating 1 Comment

Apparently people need to feel appreciated. But, as a person who occupies a leadership position with no intention of actually leading, you don’t have time for what people need. You pay them to do their jobs. A paycheck is all the appreciation they are going to get from you. 

As a non-leader in a leadership position you know how silly it is to recognize people for a job well done. It’s ridiculous to express appreciation to people who merely did what they are supposed to do. It’s not your job to play nursemaid to people who need to be constantly reminded of their value to the organization. 

If the paycheck they get isn’t enough recognition then that’s their problem not yours. Somebody promoted you into the leadership position you’re now in. They must agree with your thinking about silly stuff like recognition and showing appreciation. You’re on track for another promotion so keep up the crappy leadership!

Or…you could stop thinking in terms of promotions and start thinking more like a leader. 

Authentic Leaders go out of their way to observe the people they lead so they can catch them doing the RIGHT things. Then they reward them for it with verbal or even written recognition. 

Recognition provided in written form, like a short note for instance, has much more staying power than mere verbal recognition. While I encourage consistent verbal recognition the occasional hand written note has power that should not be underestimated. 

People will hold on to that note a long time. They will share it with family and friends. It is validating for them. It’s confirms their hope that they matter and that someone else realizes it too. 

Verbal recognition and appreciation is great but written recognition and notes of appreciation are even greater. It costs so little in terms of time but it means so much for the people on the receiving end. 

Being an Authentic Leader requires a great deal more effort than just occupying a leadership position. It requires that the Authentic Leader have to courage to show they care. It requires that they see the people they lead as human beings. It requires that they invest time in their people and work to help their people succeed. And it requires that they be generous with their recognition of, and appreciation for, their people. 

Their reward for that effort is engaged and committed followers. Something the “pretend leaders” who won’t make the effort to actually lead will never have. 

Some of you know that I’ve been trying out something relatively new over on Twitter. It’s called SuperFollow. That means I post some tweets that are for subscribers only. The tweets I post for subscribers are video only. I post two each weekday, mostly on leadership but also sales and living a better life in general. I’m also way more available for questions from SuperFollowers than I can be for the million plus regular Twitter followers. The investment to see these “SuperTweets” is $4.99 a month, that’s about 17 cents a day. The videos continue to grow in popularity so clearly a lot of people think they are worthwhile. 

Not only can you invest in yourself with solid video coaching, you can also make a difference in the world too. All the income from my SuperFollowers on Twitter go to help kids with Down Syndrome. 

You can find more information by clicking the Super Follow button on my Twitter profile page IN THE TWITTER APP or on a web browser. http://twitter.com/leadtoday Give it a try if you’re so inclined, and if you are, be sure to let me know how I’m doing and what topics you’d like to see me address.

The Importance of Recognition 

Steve Keating 1 Comment

All leaders understand the importance of giving their people timely and meaningful recognition. But not all leaders demonstrate that they understand that importance. Many fall into the trap called the tyranny of the urgent. They get so busy doing things that appear urgent that they allow the important things to fall into oblivion. 

They pay a steep price for that mistake. Failing to recognize deserving team members leads to higher turnover. Especially these days. Failure to recognize top talent significantly decreases their level of engagement. An organization’s most expensive employees are not the ones who are the highest paid. They are the ones who are least engaged. 

When recognition falls so does employee performance. Especially the performance of an organization’s best people. 

In a recent survey of a cross section of employees from various industries the question was asked, “What is the most important thing that your company or manager does that causes you to produce great work? Employees answered in their own words but a clear pattern emerged. 37% of respondents said that more personal recognition would encourage them to produce better work more often. That is 3 times the second place answer which was “nothing.”

The survey also showed that recognition makes employees feel that promotions are fair. It spurs innovation and drives extra effort. Recognition is also the single greatest driver of positive company culture. 

None of that comes as a surprise to an experienced leader. But even experienced leaders struggle with their priorities. The urgent things that come with managing a business take priority over the importance of leading people. 

Authentic Leaders put recognizing their people at or very near the top of their daily priority list. They block time to recognize people. Their recognition goes well beyond a simple “nice job.” They can state, with great specificity, how their employee’s effort had a positive impact on the organization. Many times that recognition will also come in the form of a hand-written note. They know that investing a few minutes to jot down their thoughts increases the significance of the recognition ten-fold. 

Being “busy” is absolutely no excuse for failing to provide consistent recognition to the people you lead. In fact, it’s when your organization is at it’s busiest that your people most need recognition. And yes, I said need. Recognition is the fuel that lights their fire of productivity. It fuels their determination to excel.

It’s really this simple…if you want your people to perform at a higher level then you’re gonna need to lead at a higher level.  Giving recognition is a key character trait of a high performing leader. So stop reading and go give a deserving member of your team some recognition RIGHT NOW.

On a different subject… Everyone can use a “nudge” towards success. I’m trying something new on Twitter. It’s called “Super Followers.” For $5 a month, that’s 17 cents a day, people can follow a part of my Twitter stream that is for subscribers only. It features short videos of me discussing leadership topics, sales tips and ideas for better overall relationships. I’m assuming there will be far fewer Super Followers than the million or so people who regularly follow me on Twitter. That will give me the opportunity to answer questions more throughly than I can on regular Twitter. Most of the answers will come in the evening cause we all have day jobs, right? Think of it as ”mentoring on demand!”

My goal with SuperFollowers is to build a better connection, one where I can help more and have a greater impact. I’m hoping it gives me a chance to mentor to a wider audience. It’s still new, we’ll see how it works. It’s a $5 dollar investment that may be the extra “push” you need to get to where you want to be. I’d be honored to be able to help get you there. 

You can find more information by clicking the Super Follow button on my Twitter profile page IN THE TWITTER APP. http://twitter.com/leadtoday Give it a try if you’re so inclined, and if you are, be sure to let me know how I’m doing and how I can be of even more help.

What Employees Want

Steve Keating 1 Comment

I hope, particularly if you’re in a leadership position, that you don’t learn a thing from this post. That’s because you should already know everything in this post. It would be best if you learned it from the people you lead. It would be better than best if you learned it by asking them directly. 

But in case none of that is true, here we go. 

It’s a given that your people want a fair wage and decent benefits. When you determine what you can pay them it’s likely you do so based on what you can afford. They determine what they should be paid based on what they think is fair. You’ll likely have to meet in the middle but know that if you don’t you’ll have motivation and turnover issues galore. 

What you may not realize is that money alone is a pretty poor motivator. Once a person’s basic needs are met money becomes a “nice to have” not a “must have.”

More important than money is a future in the organization. The more defined that future is the better. Many people, especially people in the younger demographic groups, have left their companies during the Great Resignation precisely because they couldn’t see a future with their current companies. If you want engaged and committed employees then work with them to chart out potential opportunities for them within your organization. 

While employees may not go the extra mile for mere money they will give you extraordinary effort in return for earned recognition. The expectation of recognition on the part of employees who have earned it does not make them divas, it makes them human. 

Organizations with enthusiastically committed employees have systems in place to make recognition intentional. Haphazard recognition can be as bad as no recognition, especially for the unlucky individual who earned it and didn’t receive it. Don’t allow recognition to be a matter of luck in your organization. Be consistent in giving recognition and your people will be consistent in responding. 

Everyone needs to matter and everyone needs to know that they matter. The most effective way to show your employees that they matter is to listen to them. They have opinions and ideas about the organization and how it could be better. LISTEN to them. When employees determine that their voices aren’t being heard they disengage. If you want disengaged employees give them a check and ignore them. But don’t blame them, their lack of engagement is on you for failing to show them that they matter. 

They simple act of listening, really listening, to what your employees tell you is also a sign of respect, which is another thing employees crave. 

Finally, the big one. Employees want to know how they are doing. They want to know it more than once a year. They want to be crystal clear on exactly what is expected of them and how those expectations will be measured. Not knowing what is expected of them is the number one reason people give for being frustrated with their organizations. Most say they would rather be told they are performing poorly than being left to wonder what their boss thinks of their performance. 

I hope you knew all that already. But knowing and doing are two different things. It’s good to know what your people want, but you must provide it to them if you hope to have the kind of people who will help your organization grow. 

So they question isn’t did you know this stuff, the question is are you providing this stuff. 

Answer honestly or there’s no need to answer at all! 

On a another subject…I’m trying something new on Twitter. It’s called “Super Followers.” For $5 a month, that’s 17 cents a day, people can follow a part of my Twitter stream that is for subscribers only. It features short videos of me discussing leadership topics, sales tips and ideas for better overall relationships. I’m assuming there will be far fewer Super Followers than the million or so people who regularly follow me on Twitter. That will give me the opportunity to answer questions more throughly than I can on regular Twitter. Most of the answers will come in the evening cause we all have day jobs, right? Think of it as ”mentoring on demand!”

My goal with SuperFollowers is to build a better connection, one where I can perhaps help more and have a greater impact. I’m hoping it gives me a chance to mentor to a wider audience. It’s still new, we’ll see how it works. It’s a $5 dollar investment that may be the extra “push” you need to get to where you want to be. I’d be honored to be able to help get you there. 

You can find more information by clicking the Super Follow button on my Twitter profile page IN THE TWITTER APP. http://twitter.com/leadtoday Give it a try if you’re so inclined, and if you are, be sure to let me know how I’m doing and how I can be of even more help.

You’d Better Do More Than Say You’re Listening

Steve Keating 2 Comments

4.3 million people quit their jobs in September as the “Great Resignation” continues to pick up steam. This as thousands of companies continue to pretend that this won’t have any impact on them. 

In a recent survey of people who quit their jobs within the last 12 months a full 79% reported a major reason for leaving was the feeling that their efforts were not appreciated by their organizations. 

But the question is, where did that “feeling” of no appreciation come from?

In many cases it came directly from “management” not listening to their employees. I’d hazard a guess that many of the companies that lost employees told their people that “we are listening” to you. Some likely made a big deal out of their desire to listen to their employees.  They encouraged their people to “speak up.” 

Maybe those companies actually listened and maybe they didn’t. And therein lies the problem. The employees have no idea if they are being listened to because they receive no feedback on their suggestions, questions, or complaints. They don’t see any changes come about because of their efforts to communicate. 

The lack of change or feedback leads people to believe that management doesn’t value their input, experience, or knowledge. Looking at it objectively I’d have to say the people are almost certainly right. 

It’s always been that way to some extent. Today, for a variety of reasons, people are more likely to leave the company than put up with it. 

To be clear people are quitting their jobs for a wide variety of reasons but if you don’t solicit input from your people they are likely to leave faster. If you do solicit input and then appear to do nothing with it they leave even faster. 

If you are a leader in your organization you must make certain that EVERY suggestion, question, or complaint is responded to. You must make every effort to receive those suggestions, questions, or complaints with an open mind. You must be willing to guarantee that no matter the feedback from employees there will no retaliation of any kind. 

Most of all you must be willing to change what makes sense to change. You should also be prepared to explain, with some detail, why something cannot change. 

Explaining a policy or why things are done a certain way does not make you a weak leader. Someone asking why something is done a particular way is not challenging your leadership. In most cases they are trying to help. They are trying to make a difference. 

Communicating with the people you lead makes them feel valued. Feeling valued is more important than money and benefits. It’s so important that people would rather quit their jobs than sell their souls for a paycheck. If you’re running a business and you haven’t figured that out yet then you best be buying a whole bunch more “help wanted” signs cause you need a lotta help.

Some organizations will indeed be impacted less by the Great Resignation. That’s because they do more than merely listen to their people, they do something with what they have learned by listening.