See Something, Say Something.

If you fly throughout the United Sates much then you get accustomed to waiting around airports and hearing the overhead announcements being made.

I am getting ready to fly to some of my family who live in the States and that’s what triggered this post.

I remember when I was at the Seattle, Washington airport on my business travels and heard the usual Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security announcements. You know the ones I’m referring to.

“Don’t leave your luggage unattended.”

 Or “if you see anything suspicious or notice any unattended luggage, please report it to security.”

You’ve heard them all before, I’m sure. After a while you almost tune them out because they are so frequently rebroadcast.

Except on this one occasion. I heard their one announcement differently. It jolted me awake and caught my mind in a whole new light.

Oh sure, it followed the whole “unattended luggage” reminder and the flagging of “anything suspicious” to security personnel.

Are you ready?

 See something. Say something.

This is the catchy line TSA uses to direct people’s attention to act on airport security procedures.

But with my expertise in employee recognition it reminded me of our need to be doing a much better job of recognizing others.

If you see something that merits recognition or appreciation…simply say something about it. Don’t wait. Say it right away!

From airports to our offices, from our homes to our children’s school playground, recognition should extend beyond our professional lives and into our personal lives. Be on the lookout for all the positive things around you that can be reinforced with recognition!

Let these words from the TSA be a constant reminder for you on how you can improve recognition giving.

Remember:

See something. Say something.

Question: Do you have any auditory or visual triggers that remind you to give more frequent recognition?

Roy is no longer writing new content for this site (he has retired!), but you can subscribe to Engage2Excel’s blog as Engage2Excel will be taking Roy’s place writing about similar topics on employee recognition and retention, leadership and strategy.