There’s something special about the person who seems to exude recognition from their pores.
These are the people that seem to appreciate others so effortlessly and you always feel good to be around them.
They are often charismatic. No doubt they are “people” people. They tend to be more extroverted – but don’t worry if you’re not. Very observant individuals and they seem able to perceive how people are feeling.
Having heard hundreds of employees speak of how a certain manager or employee is great at recognizing them, it’s good to generalize on the common qualities they share.
So what is it that great recognizers do that other people ignore?
Follow these 5 practices for yourself so you can become a great recognizer where you work.
1. They know people are very important and that is just how they think. These leaders, no matter the position or title, put employees first ahead of their customers. It is intuitive to them that if you treat your people right they will simply reciprocate and treat your customers right too. You see it in how they manage their day-to-day activities and how they interact with everyone.
2. They are positive people and actively work on being positively minded. Positivity and gratitude are qualities they display naturally or they have mastered acquiring in their lives. They have a positive vocabulary and give more affirmative feedback than critical reviews. Look at their face and body language and you will see peace and calm even when there are problems to deal with.
3. They are great communicators and always willing to talk to employees. They ask good questions to open people up and are supportive and encouraging of their staff. They are far more focused on other people than themselves. They observe carefully what people are doing and acknowledge them right away for it. They consistently express appreciation for people’s positive contributions.
4. They plan in quality time to encourage and recognize their employees. It’s incredible to see this quality in action. It could be eating lunch with employees in the cafeteria and just chatting with them. Or how town hall and staff meetings are interactive. And their making time each day to handwrite thank you notes.
5. They show a personal touch with employees both offsite and head office. They do their homework to ensure they know everyone’s name and something about them when visiting. They prefer wandering around and connecting with people. They use company programs and social media tools very well to honor employee anniversaries and personal events with warm and meaningful words.
Keep these essential behaviors top of mind as you evaluate their occurrence with the great recognizers in your organization.
Question: Which of the 5 attributes do the great recognizers in your organization display?
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