As a corporate leader, a critical role is to keep your team inspired. In my executive coaching career, I have met hundreds of leaders who find it difficult to acknowledge people rightly.
When Carolyn Wiley reviewed four studies of employee motivation conducted between 1946 and 1992 she found that more than 80 percent of supervisors claim they frequently express appreciation to their subordinates, while less than 20 percent of employees report that their supervisors express appreciation more than occasionally.
You may call it the recognition gap. Not to wonder this is one of the reasons for people to leave an organization.
Most of the organizations resort to the ‘Employee of the Month’ kind of practice which loses steam over time as only a few get it repeatedly and others become indifferent.
Cheap and Dan Heath while writing their book ‘The Power of Moments’ did a study to find out defining moments in people’s careers. Upon asking most people cited personal events.
Keith Risinger is Executive Development Advisor at Eli Lilly, a pharma company based in Indiana, United States. He noticed a Sales Representative, Bob Hughes displaying curiosity and listening intently which resulted in persuading a difficult doctor to prescribe their product. So, Risinger publicly awarded him with a Bose Earphone to recognize his listening skills. This is what Bob has to say:
‘That was a very proud moment for me… To win this kind of award among your peers means more than being recognized with bonus.’
One of my clients Santosh is the master of appreciation. He has a sharp eye for things done right and never misses to highlight it to the person howsoever small an act it is. This trait has created a band of supercharged employees under him.
Do you recall any moment when your manager caught you doing something good and recognized it? How did that make you feel?
To up their leadership game, I recommend 4 ingredients to executives for effective appreciation, I call it PASS:
P: Personal A: Authentic S: Specific S: Spontaneous
Personal: Keep an eye out for your team doing something good. If you notice it, let them know. I have seen many executives withhold appreciation, as they wish to keep the bar high for acknowledgment. To many, this shows a lack of responsiveness and leads to disconnect.
Authentic: Leaders lose credibility when people notice a lack of authenticity. Be genuine. Be mindful that you are not pleasing.
Specific: Tell them exactly what moved the needle or how they are making a difference. The more specific your appreciation is, the deeper it would touch the receiver.
Spontaneous: Do not wait for your monthly one-to-one. Let people know on the spot. If you miss that, deliver it as soon as possible after the event.
This doesn’t work only at the workplace. So, you may like to apply this at home and in social circles too.
What are your thoughts?
Change your game!
Vivek