Be careful when expressing recognition not to be too brief.

Statements like “Well done!”, “Great job!”, or “Excellent!”, when left in isolation, may not be enough to create the intended message or feeling of appreciation for a person.

The irony is, while we may think we were perfectly clear by giving such succinct words of praise to a person, recipients may think they can see right through them.

They already know what they did was well done and a great job. That’s exactly what they do every day when they come to work. It’s part of the employer-employee agreement they signed up for when hired – do good work and you’ll get paid the agreed upon wage or salary. They are good people who are honest and care about what they do.

Sometimes we sacrifice clarity in the recognition experience we give to people by being short and sweet.

My recommendation is to look through the glass of recognition carefully and make it much clearer. (more…)