Create a Culture of Recognition

A culture of recognition is about valuing individuals as human beings, while acknowledging their impact on the business and their intention to grow and have impact, which is especially important when they fail.

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Five Steps to Creating a Culture of Recognition

Live your company values. Leaders need to continually reflect their company values in the way they conduct themselves and model behavior.

Amplify others. To foster a culture of employee appreciation, the most important thing a person can do is show gratitude for someone else’s work as well as how they elevate others to reach the desired goal.

Celebrate effort and intention, not just outcomes. An idea with a successful result should be rightly celebrated, but so should failures if the motivations and intent were on target. This requires managers to take a “long view” of their talent teams, to develop open and collaborative relationships where they can encourage innovation and experimentation.

Offer rewards that are meaningful and inclusive. It’s not effective to give basketball tickets to someone with no interest in the game. Likewise, taking the team out for drinks after work can exclude people who avoid alcohol. A thoughtful leader takes the time to get to know members of their team and reward them in ways that will be personally meaningful. In most instances, what employees really want is an acknowledgment of their efforts.

Listen and take action. This is the game changer. Collecting feedback and creating the space for meaningful dialogue about it is the # 1 way managers can show they value their teams. If employees feel heard and can participate in the conversation, a continuous cultural improvement cycle can be established.

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