Why People Might Not Believe The Recognition You Gave Them

Let’s set the scenario that you haven’t really been very good at giving recognition. It hasn’t been natural for you since you’ve only been a supervisor for less than a year. The leader you report to has set a performance management expectation for you to give more frequent recognition. They based all this on a recent employee engagement survey and the division you’re in didn’t do so well. 

Now, HR has recently conducted training to show all supervisors and managers how to use the new online recognition program they launched at the beginning of the year.

But you have a problem. You’ve been hearing from workers that they don’t know how authentic and meaningful your recognition really is.

Here are some potential reasons this might be something you might need to work on.

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Telling People The Difference Their Actions Make Is Important

In life, I strive for a basic level of minimalism. I still have a lot of things, but I continually get rid of some things I no longer need or use so I can focus more on what’s most important to me­—such as family, friends, joy, and freedom. Minimalism can make a real difference.

However, when expressing recognition to the people you and I work with, there is no need for minimalism with how you communicate your praise and appreciation to them. That means, as I have said before, that those meaningless, short phrases like “good job” and “well done,” don’t work. 

If you’re still using them, you’ve gone too far with decluttering your recognition messaging. 

This post is all about showing you the importance of telling people the difference their positive actions make on others. 

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How To Be An Authentic Recognition Leader

If there is one thing I’ve learned about giving meaningful and effective recognition to others, is the fact that it must be authentic. Both the recognition and the giver must be real. 

Imagine the positive influence that can come when a people-leader has learned to be authentic as an individual and a recognizer of others.

Let’s explore how a leader can become authentic and a real recognition giver, too.

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Great Leaders Are Great at Recognizing People

You have probably already seen it in your organization.

There are some leaders—directors of departments or senior leadership team members—who not only stand out for what their employees achieve, but who know are great recognizers of their staff. Employees like and trust them and they produce top results because of how they are treated by their leader.

Why is it that great leaders are also great at recognizing people?

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One Thing You Need To Improve Your Recognition

In researching recognition practices and the positive behaviors and principles associated with meaningful recognition, I have identified at least forty essential behaviors needed for giving recognition seen as authentic and effective in the eyes of employees.

My colleague, Dr. Charles Scherbaum, and I have even developed a Recognition Skills Assessment that assesses an individual’s strengths and weaknesses around these researched behaviors.

But over and above all these behaviors, skills, and practices, what’s the one thing you can do to improve your recognition giving abilities? (more…)