Recognition Works Best When It's Personalized

Think about the last time you recognized someone on your team. Perhaps you made a public shout-out in a meeting, or sent a gift card reward for a recent success, or maybe it was just a quick note of appreciation in the group chat. Whatever it was, you probably did it the way you would want to be recognized.

While your intention is on target, you may have missed the mark without ever knowing why. Recognition that lands well for you, may not be appreciated by everyone the same way. The person you praised in front of the whole team may have spent the rest of the day wishing you had shared your remarks in private. The one you sent a gift card to might have felt more appreciated by a one-on-one conversation about where they want their career to go.

That's the potential pitfall we're about to fix. While good leaders recognize people often, great leaders recognize them in the way that's preferred and meaningful to the recipient of your praise. How do you do that?

You have to ask them. That's the whole idea behind this tool.

My Favorite Things

There are two tools we've created that work together so leaders can effectively and fairly manage recognition for their team.

The My Favorite Things Form lets each team member tell you, in their own words, how they like to be recognized. Whether they prefer a private note or a public thank-you, and what kind of gesture means something to them. The form asks about the small stuff too, such as their favorite coffee order or snack.

This tool should not be presented as a requirement, it's totally optional. Every question is work-appropriate. People only share what they are comfortable with, but you'll find most employees will appreciate you asking their opinion and taking the time to ensure you know their preferences.

The My Favorite Things Tracker provides leaders with a tool to log who you last recognized. Over time, the log will highlight who you might be overlooking, so the same three people don't get all the praise while the quiet contributor goes unnoticed.

The whole thing takes just a few minutes to set up, and it comes with a short script you can paste into an email or say at the top of a meeting when introducing the form.

Word, PDF, Excel, and Google formats.

To your success,

Richard

Founder, Leadership-Tools.com

P.S. The people who never ask for recognition are usually the ones who go longest without it. Those unsung heroes are a good place to start as you begin tracking your recognition efforts.