A lack of recognition and appreciation is killing our drive
In many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, this time of year can feel tough. The aftermath of the festive period. The short days. And the race to get back up to speed in the new year, all compounding. Many of us choose to get our heads down, push through it, and get on with our work. But that approach means less contact with our people and fewer opportunities to recognise and appreciate them. The cost of that decision can be sizeable and long-lasting. Or, we can choose a different way.
Three years ago, I was staring at my phone. My whole week seemed to have changed. I felt different.
Three minutes before, I’d been having a terrible week. Every piece of work felt like a struggle. Wading through treacle just to make the smallest progress. Mistakes were being made. Balls being dropped.
But now? Now, I was bulletproof. My insides buzzing. I couldn’t wait to get going again.
Two-and-a-half minutes before, my phone rang, a colleague’s name popping up.
I’d groaned. ‘What have I done wrong now?’ ‘Have I forgotten something else I was supposed to do?’ ‘Which of my respective quagmires will they want a progress update on?’ I answered the phone in trepidation, knowing my bad week was about to get worse.
Two minutes before, my colleague told me they’d just met with one of my clients…
…They told me they’d been speaking about my work with the client and their team…
And… they’d absolutely loved it.
Wait! What?
The client said they’d seen such an impact on their team already. People were talking differently. Acting differently. And, that they couldn’t wait until the next session.
One minute before, my colleague started telling me, they had to go.
They were running into another meeting, but they knew they had to give me a quick call to let me know, as soon as possible, because it was such high praise coming from this client.
Thirty seconds passed, and I was still staring at my phone. But everything had changed.
Three years later, the memory still fuels me.
Recognition is a strong motivational tool – it can help drive an 11.1% average increase in team performance* and reduce absenteeism by as much as 27%**. But, numbers aside, we all know the emotional response that we get when recognised… or not.
You’ve felt invisible, ignored, like nothing you did was good enough. You know the impact of those moments. The sad thing is, we have likely all made someone else feel that way too. It’s surprisingly easy to do. Simply ignoring someone’s efforts is almost as destructive to motivation as trashing their work***.
But we can make people feel like I did after that phone call, three years ago. We can make them feel seen, noticed and valued, if we’re a little more intentional and make recognition a priority.
The one thing you can do to make that happen? Put recognition in the diary. If it’s not in the diary, it doesn’t happen. That might be some sort of reminder for yourself each day or week, including it in your team catch-up agenda, or regularly asking a wider group. But, put it in the diary.
Here are three ideas to get you started – feel free to steal with pride.
A CEO we work with makes a note whenever they hear a positive story about an individual or team. They finish each day by sending notes to the people they heard about to say ‘thank you’, share how they heard about it, and why it meant something to them. The reaction when people receive this ‘second-hand praise’ creates a real buzz across the business.
A Head of Department in a charitable/arts organisation introduced the ‘Vase of Victory’ to their team. Each week the Vase is awarded to a team member who’s had a significant impact on somebody else. It’s placed on their desk with fresh flowers in it – prompting passers by to ask for the story too – and they rotate who decides the holder, so everyone gets a chance to share their gratitude over time.
A Senior Leader in the broadcast industry gets their team, and other senior leaders across the business, to send them notes praising their team members ahead of their monthly meeting. In their words, “I’m not up for ‘participation medals’, they have to be authentic, but everyone in my team will have a highlight during a month, and because it doesn’t all come from me, it means a lot more to the team.”
As a final tip, if you’re worried it won’t feel like you, start with a simple phrase like “I wanted you to know…” You’ll need to fill in the blanks that follow, but remember to include two things: what it is you are recognising and the impact it had.
I wanted you to know I’m grateful for you reading this article, your support makes me feel the effort drafting it is worthwhile.
See. It’s easy.
* Gartner
** Gallup
*** Dan Ariely – Payoff
