I’m all about getting recognition. Uh, giving ... yeah, I mean, I'm all about giving recognition. In fact, I think it’s vital; especially in the workplace. I believe nothing motivates more than true and honest acknowledgement of a job well done. You know what I mean? Like when your boss comes up with the idea to give out an AMAZING employee of the month award where the winner gets a sculpture of an oversized pickle, but they only get to keep it on their desk for that month, and then next month it goes to the new winner, so everyone is just busting their ass to win that pickle, and if you want to keep that pickle on your desk you better step it up even higher, because anyone who walks by and sees that pickle knows “You da man!” Yeah, not that type of recognition. I’m talking about something far less kindergarten and much simpler.
I’m talking about your boss sincerely verbally recognizing something you’ve done in front of others (and perhaps giving you a gift certificate to Hooters as a mere token). You’d be surprised how far that goes. I don’t write that because I’ve never been recognized, I actually write that because I don’t recognize others enough. Note to self – recognize more. See, recognizing I need to recognize is half the battle.
But similar to crystal meth, the more and more recognition that you’re given, the less you feel it. And undeserved recognition ... don’t even get me started. My freshman year I played high school football, and if I recall correctly our record was 2 wins and 8 losses. We got trophies though. Seriously the entire team got trophies! I forget what the inscription read, but if it didn’t read “1997’s Biggest Pussies”, then we didn’t deserve them. Which is why recognition is so tough. You wanna give it, but if everyone is getting it, it doesn’t mean a damn thing.
So two things to think about as a manager is how much and how often. To reiterate these I will use scenarios that you can feel free to share with your management team –
SCENARIO 1 - Roger tells you he has just got the phone number of Becky. He is so excited. You proceed to tell him that your friends had previously nicknamed Becky “the town bicycle”. He’s now less excited.
THE POINT - If it is given to everyone, it’s not the right type of recognition.
SCENARIO 2 - Bill meets a girl who gives him "happy pants" every night. Bill loves it! But after about a month something weird happens, and I guess you could say it's taking longer to make Bill's pants happy. In fact, one day Bill actually falls asleep in the middle of happy pants.
THE POINT - If it is given too much, it's not the right amount of recognition.
(please note I am not suggesting anyone cut down on happy pants)
Hopefully you’ve learned something here. These are all things to think about as we head into the time when recognition is most important, and we cannot forget about our people – the year is winding down, you’re being asked to write evaluations, holding meetings about performance – of course I’m talking about …… awards show season!!!! Oscars, Globes, People’s Choice, Grammys, Screen Actors Guild. Let’s not forget it’s the rich and famous that truly need recognizing the most.
On the real though, recognize, but do it right.
I disagree with some of your assumptions.
ReplyDeleteExample: If Becky "The town bicycle" is truly a demon in the sack many guys would not care if everyone in town has had a ride. Therefore I think you need to add a variable into your calculation.
Another example refers to the white elephant episode of "The Office". If everyone got a video ipod, that would not make me want to get Kevin's footbath in its place. I would rather have the video ipod as would everyone else... except Kevin, who chose the foot bath.
-AD€