Great Leaders Recognize Magnificence

I had a conversation with someone in the financial industry who was struck by a recent recognition that had happened in a recent staff meeting. A few days prior to that meeting, an employee caught a customer trying to pass a fake wire to her company of over $1 million. These types of false wires cost real estate, and stock brokerages millions annually, because as technology improves, this kind of fraud becomes more and more difficult to track. Back in the day you wrote a check or brought with cash so the transaction was tangible and easy to track and catch. With wired funds you never verify with your eyes and hands so the money can vanish into the millions already in the account or never be deposited in the first place. This article isn’t about money schemes, it’s about the recognition received by a diligent employee and the impact it had on the whole organization and especially her. She continued that, “the owner came in and met with me personally, and brought me gifts”. A very big deal was made of it and although she saw it as just doing her job, the bosses viewed it as diligence beyond the call. They wanted that kind of diligence from all of their employees so they celebrated it when they saw it. Some leadership experts say, “inspect what you expect”, suggesting that encouraging behaviors you want to see works anywhere.  

The desire to be seen or recognized is an instinct we all have had since childhood. Children do things with the hope of pleasing their parents and getting coos, treats, and hugs. Whether or not a child was recognized and given due adulation drives children to want to achieve more and get more recognition which drives them to do more. This instinct does not go away as people grow into adulthood, what changes are the environments, e.g. the dinner table for the conference table. At work, people show up and want meaningful work, they want to do a good job, and they want someone to notice. What’s great about recognition is that it motivates other workers who witness the celebration too. Researchers call employees who are driven to produce, engaged workers. Engagement can be sparked and fueled by regular recognition. Psychologists call this exchange of recognition for effort, the rule of reciprocity.

A whitepaper commissioned by Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For and Great Place to Work-Certified Company, OC Tanner, investigates the root cause of great employee performance and how managers can tailor their workplaces to promote it. The paper gathers its conclusions from an open-ended survey where respondents were asked the question, "What is the most important thing that your manager or company currently does that would cause you to produce great work?" Respondents answered in their own words, providing a variety of responses, but some clear patterns did emerge. Overall, 37% of respondents stated that more personal recognition would encourage them to produce better work more often. While other themes like autonomy and inspiration did surface, recognition was the most dominant, illustrating the importance of affirmation, feedback and reward for motivating employees to do their best work. 

Gallup research reveals that only one in three employees feel as if their work is regularly recognized. According to the Gallup report, “it’s not uncommon for an employee to feel that their best efforts are routinely ignored.” These unengaged employees were also twice as likely as engaged employees to say they intended to quit their job in the next year. This type of disengagement impacts performance and morale of the entire organization. Gallup also offers suggestions and an impact rating for the leaders who give recognition. It can be as simple as a kind note, a thank you card, or encouraging words. Gallup continued, the most memorable recognition comes from the employee’s manager (28%), a high level leader or CEO (24%), their manager’s manager (12%), a customer (10%), and peers (9%). Your direct reports see feedback from their direct supervisor as most memorable, even more than the CEO. Yes, you read that correctly.

If you are in a position where you have people reporting to you, slather them with recognition and credit. Gary Vaynerchuck wrote in, The Thank You Economy that you get the best return for your investment by showing gratitude. I would take it a step further by including affirmations such as Atta boys. Basically, a little effort goes a long way. It doesn’t have to be over the top or expensive, it doesn’t have to cost much at all. Each time you miss an opportunity, you pass on a chance to engage your team and initiate the rule of reciprocity. Worse still, you make your people feel unseen which causes them to behave in unproductive ways that negatively impact the whole organization.  

In the case of the conversation I had recently, this colleague was brought to tears that the owner of her company took the time to meet with her, showed some gratitude, and even brought gifts. The owner’s gesture was energizing for the whole team. Your people may not catch million dollar mistakes but they do millions of things that make your organization go. They interact with the public, solve problems, create practices and procedures, and handle all of the little things that the owner would otherwise have to deal with him or herself; daily magnificence. That is worth a little love every day of the week. Recognize their magnificence and your whole organization will SOAR!

William A. Brown

December 15, 2019

http://soarsuccessfully.com/articles-details.php?id=1

http://soarsuccessfully.com/articles-details.php?id=28

https://www.greatplacetowork.com/resources/blog/creating-a-culture-of-recognition

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236441/employee-recognition-low-cost-high-impact.aspx

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