William Wong Nov 2018
FOCUSED RECOGNITION
Give them Props for Fighting the Good Fight
I don't think I've ever met someone that doesn't appreciate sincere recognition for their efforts. Even folks that outwardly proclaim they don't need it will secretly bask in it's light when well-deserved praises are offered.
Researchers have found that receiving positive feedback actually triggers the release of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivated behaviors.
However, recognition are shortlived, so to have an enduring impact on employee engagement, it needs to be offered regularly.
Jim Harter said it best when he proclaimed "Recognition is a short-term need that has to be satisfied on an ongoing basis."
The Aon 2018 Trends in Global Employee Engagement survey, conducted in 1,000 companies employing 8 million people globally, showed rewards and recognition as “the strongest driver of engagement.”
The Boston Consulting Group conducted an online global study of 200,000 employees from 189 countries in 2014, finding that “Globally, the most important single job element for all people is appreciation for their work.” - Cutting Edge
Praises are compliments without specific context. It's telling someone "Hey, great job!". It strokes the ego, but is pretty generic and less actionable. I've quickly learned that praises without specifics are not very effective, and can even come across negatively if the staff doesn't think it's genuine. Frequent praises and no substances can make people roll their eyes.
Recognition. Instead, I now offer specific feedback that promotes the positive behaviors that I want from my team. I reward on results, but offer recognition for actions.
To illustrate the difference, let's suppose one of my team member (Jenny) just finished a presentation on "diversity sourcing tactics." Below are two types of responses:
Praise vs. Recognition
Praise: “Good job on that presentation Jenny!”
Praising is easy. If that's all it took, I can go around complimenting folks all day long, every day, and twice on Sundays. Did it make Jenny feel good? Probably, but for how long? And more importantly, without any specifics, it doesn't offer Jenny any talking points on what worked well, why it worked well, or even how others perceived it.
Recognition: "The way you visually communicated the pros and cons of the different diversity tactics made the presentation clear and concise. I especially enjoyed the lab portion of your presentation because all too often sourcing tactics are more theoretical vs. practical. I know the team really found it useful because I've already received feedback from Joe and Cathy that they've implemented your ideas.
Feedback like this gives specific information on the behaviors and actions demonstrated that led to a successful presentation. By complimenting Jenny on the method and content of her presentation, it gives her something tangible to work with. By knowing what worked well, Jenny will continue to run meetings like this in the future. If this is the first time Jenny ran a meeting like this, then it will provide her with courage and motivation to try new things.
How Does Recognition Fit In?
Recognition is the reinforcement of desirable actions, which in turn produces positive results. Do you notice someone performing something you'd like repeated? Have an employee that's excelling at something and want others to follow suit? Then quickly identify the action that produced the result, and provide honest sincere appreciation specifying the details.
The Skinny
Organizational Culture is the sum of all experiences, beliefs, actions and results of a company. At the bottom are experiences which fosters beliefs, beliefs that influences actions, and actions produce results. To put it simply, organizational culture is the way people think and act. Every organization has a culture and it either works for or against you.
What is... Focused Recognition
The goal of Focused Recognition is to shine a spotlight on, encourage and applaud desired actions. When people receive recognition for their actions, they tend to repeat those actions. It also acts as a framework for others to follow. You want to utilize it to spark as many desired actions as possible, because desired actions are what produces the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (a.k.a, results).
How Do I Get Started?
The nifty thing about Focused Recognition is anyone can get in on the fun. Unlike the more formal top-down processes, you can provide recognition regardless of your title, role or function. It can be done from an intern to the CEO, from people across different teams, functions or divisions. There is however, one caveat - folks need to be trained on how to properly provide effective recognition instead of just throwing around praises. Praises, if left unchecked, can sideline even the best recognition programs because people will just get numb to all the superficial kudos thrown around.
The folks at Partners in Leadership recommend having a stack of recognition cards handy and I agree with them. It makes it easily accessible because it's sitting on my desk, and also acts as constant reminder that I should be giving these out. It's also kind of cool getting a physical card vs an email, but that works well too.
Focused Recognition is intended to work with Focused Storytelling to help change an organization from a culture that they are currently in (C1) to a culture that they want to be in (C2). But if your organization doesn't have any Cultural Beliefs set up, then create some yourself. Keep referencing those specific Cultural Beliefs and it'll become your team's Cultural Beliefs.
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** Many of the contents, diagrams and wisdom come from and are trademarked by Partners in Training. I am merely paraphrasing what I've learned from them and retelling as constant reminder of it's teachings. If you wish to learn more about this topic, go directly to them.