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Recognition Important to any Business

The Plain Dealer --
By: Leslie Yerkes

If you are like most people, you have just spent the holiday's making a special effort to share good cheer with your employees, clients, vendors and business associates. But expressing your appreciation of others and recognizing their good deeds doesn't have to be limited to the holiday season.

There is great power in giving recognition. Recognition fuels self-esteem, which fosters strong individuals. And it is strong individuals that work together to make things happen. Isn't that the kind of dynamics you want taking place in your business? It can go a long way to renew and grow successful organizations.

Recognition, although simple in principle, isn't easy to practice. We are socialized to first look for what is not working and then, maybe, to what is working.

Because recognition is essential, make it a priority in your business. Infuse your company culture with acts of recognition. Don't be afraid to speak passionately and act fanatically in promoting the importance of giving and receiving recognition. It is critical to human success.

Most important to organizational well-being is the delivery of praise, acknowledgement and feedback. The ability to give sincere, well-delivered praise is one of the most powerful management skills in growing and sustaining high-performance individuals and organizations. To give meaningful praise, you need only to follow these few simple guidelines:

Recognition must acknowledge all individuals and acts with equality. The hierarchy of the organization should not impede the giving or receiving of recognition. For recognition to be most effective, it should be specific, sensitive and unique to each individual. And lastly, recognition should involve everybody. To encourage recognition, you must start by personally being fanatical about it. To develop the habit, plan and practice giving and receiving recognition. The planning should involve formal acts such as presenting attendance, employment and productivity awards, as well as the informal "moments of truth" and spontaneous opportunities to catch people doing exemplary things.

Recognition can be both tangible (plaques, pins, mugs, T-shirts, etc.) and intangible (verbal praise, pats on the back, etc.) The little, ongoing praises matter almost more than the big, infrequent expressions of recognition.

To successfully develop a "thank you attitude" in your organization, it requires support from the top leadership. The leadership sets the tone and tenor for the organization. Of course, recognition takes effort. In the scheme of things, it is a most important activity, but one that often will get shoved aside for a "fire" that is more urgent. In the long run, however, it is this activity that sustains and supports individuals through crises. Without it, we wither and die, or, in organizational terms, we may become less motivated and less productive.

Many miraculous things can happen when we pause to recognize those who have made meaningful contributions to our business and our lives. The act of recognition is simple, it doesn't have to cost any money, and can be done by anyone at any time.

Capture the power of recognition and create productive energy for your organization.