What even is Recognition?

If you are one of the people who say you don’t like, don’t need or don’t care about recognition then with all due respect ...I call BS.

My inspiration for this article is two fold:

• I was asked some time ago to write some thoughts on how to manage/motivate senior individual contributors (h/t Sharad Jaiswal ).
• I recently recalled an interesting discussion I had with my previous team where there was a shared realisation that everyone had been thinking about recognition in a very limited way.

If you are one of the people who say you don’t like, don’t need or don’t care about recognition then with all due respect ...I call BS.

I’m not saying you are lying to other people (although you might be) but I would hazard a guess you are lying to yourself.

The realisation I mention above came about in a team meeting when I asked everyone who had stated that they don't need recognition (as part of a getting to know each other exercise), how they would feel if:

• A stakeholder shared a project they had a key role in without acknowledging their part in it.
• A manager took credit for their work.
• They received a performance rating lower than they felt they deserved.
• They didn’t receive a promotion they had been working towards.

Sometimes we can only spot recognition in its absence.

And actually I would go so far as to say, sometimes the recognition that is important to us changes over time based on what it is we are lacking.

It’s important for us, then, to check in regularly with ourselves and with our teams about what recognition is important and motivating (or demotivating) to them so that we aren’t losing sight of that. Because if you look at recognition holistically I believe you will see it is key to motivating and managing all but in particular, with nuance, high performers and senior team members.

Types of recognition:

1. Thanks

This is an obvious one, but that doesn’t mean we do it enough. Explicitly showing gratitude and providing positive feedback are things we shouldn’t take for granted. That being said - when people say they don’t need recognition this may be one of the versions they are thinking of. Particularly if you have someone humble on your team, someone introverted or someone who doesn’t like the fluffy stuff - they may elect out of this kind of recognition. Personally, I still think saying thank you is always important. I also try to tell my team members that feel this way that it can be useful to get clarity on what you do well and what is impactful to other people, even if awkward or uncomfortable in the moment.

I sense, sometimes, that some people think it’s the right thing to say that they don’t care about or need this. It’s a strange evolution from a time, I’m sure, in the past where employers didn’t show gratitude enough to now individuals not seeing it as sincere.?

The “feedback sandwich” certainly has some blame to take in this where I’ve heard people say there is insincerity in the positive feedback bread that is there just to soften the blow from the negative filling. I don’t dispute it’s often delivered that way and it makes me sad that it has taken the power out of the thanks and the vocal appreciation.?

When I worked in Meta we had a “thanks bot” (yes really) where you could send a thanks to someone who had really helped you out. I know it wasn’t always used for such pure intentions (particularly as the person’s manager had visibility) and as a result some people resented it altogether. But I tried to use it to share when someone went above and beyond for me or my team or when we would have been lost without them.?

And saying thank you authentically is good for the person giving thanks too. So I’d suggest, say it more often and less rehearsed. The more you mean it the more people will receive it and honestly it is the one that when lacking will become very obvious.

Slightly dated Forbes article on gratitude and appreciation.

2. Public celebration

Yes I am intentionally starting with the stereotypical versions that people recoil from. I personally have been the person to say “Please don’t do this to me” such would be my mortification if a manager or peer called me out. So I get it.

I wonder sometimes if this visibility, this fanfare was also something that more traditional profiles (extroverts, those politically savvy, and perhaps, white men) sought out so either consciously or subconsciously it is something that different groups are choosing to push against. Simultaneously, we need to be conscious to update our recognition approaches to match the diversity and changing profiles of our teams.

I genuinely believe the discomfort in this is real for many and it’s one of the reasons I do ask people when I work with them first how they like to be recognised. Unfortunately I think even if you love this very few people say so openly.?

But where I think this one falters is when someone’s name is removed from work credit altogether. When one member or one sponsor of a project group shares the work of the many and doesn’t represent the effort of all. That is unacceptable. And shouldn’t be the antidote to “I don’t like public recognition”.

So be honest with yourself, and your well-intentioned manager if they ask you, say you want your contribution fairly credited but you don’t need hearts and flowers beyond that.

3. Formal performance ratings

Don’t be afraid to state the obvious. If your company has a periodical rating system to identify how people are performing (whether or not linked to compensation) and this is something that is really important to you - let your manager know.

I’m not saying this because it should have any impact on your rating - desire really shouldn’t be a factor - but I’m saying it because it helps with how you and your manager communicate in general and how managers approach conversations around those ratings.

Assume you’ve done the reflection work and thanks and public recognition really turn you cold. Assume this rating is all you really listen to when you want to understand if you are doing a good job. Now assume your manager is unaware of that and doesn’t take these conversations (or worse the rating process itself) seriously.

I promise you frustration, resentment and broken communication are on the horizon. Tension will come from you being on different pages in terms of what matters because it just isn’t the same for every person. You may be met with a manager that is disillusioned from negative experiences with these processes themselves, someone who sees it all as bureaucracy or who is generally unprepared for these events and things will sour quickly.

I'm not making excuses for the manager in all scenarios but being transparent at least takes chance out of it.

4. Compensation

Again, this may seem obvious. But it will seem obvious to those of you it is obvious to. Not everyone is financially motivated and some companies treat good compensation as almost a hygiene factor.

You will be better off having an open communication with your manager about where this sits in your priorities, as long as you feel psychologically safe that fair treatment regardless is guaranteed.?

Again, like with a performance rating, this is a signal of relative importance to other things and to how your manager should consider these in the day-to-day.

It is also something for you to consider in where you work (company, industry and role) if it is the "be all and end all" of how you assess your value.?

5. Promotion/ progression

Not everyone is motivated by moving up the proverbial career ladder. At this point everyone should realise that our assessment of what motivates others is massively biased by what motivates us.

If we assume that the next level is what each of our high performing team members wants then what happens when the next level has responsibilities or expectations that don’t fit what they actually want their life and role to look like?

What if there is something going on in their personal life that means this is not something they can take on right now?

What if going to that level and underperforming would be crippling to their self-esteem?

Have the conversation and be open to the fact that “different to what you want” isn’t the same as “unambitious” or “undedicated” it just means they have different priorities. And in fact having diversity of goals and interests could be a much healthier work environment to be in than everyone fighting for the same things.?

A balance can exist between rewarding individuals for what they do and not giving them what they don’t want (beyond the reasonable scope of the role they are in).

Conversely, for some this promotion may genuinely be the difference between staying or going. Again, desire shouldn't be a material factor (aside from if you really don't want it) but as a manager you should be aware of the stakes and how they got to that stage.

6. Time/Attention/Support

We tend to assume that micromanagement is the worst possible thing we can do to a high performer (more on that later) but what if we over pivot to absenteeism? What if we spend all of our time focused on underperformers to the point our high performer feels invisible? Or neglected? Or like they are left to take on what those underperformers can’t do.

If that sounds “thankless” then it’s in the right place.?

You need to be checking in on the individuals in your team. You need to be having conversations about them as a person (not just the tasks) so that you can spot what is important to them and they know that they are important to you.

Some people respond so well to quality time, warmth, small talk - these are things I have honestly overlooked when I’ve been “busy” and I’ve felt it later.

If you feel blindsided by a team member leaving or giving negative feedback it could be that you left them to their own devices for too long or in an extreme way.

For the last two of these I’m going to talk about how the two best managers I’ve had in my career showed me recognition in different ways but in ways that were so important to me at the time. Tony Evans and Sandra Hughes this is a shout out to you ?? #publicrecogntion

7. Trust

This may sound contradictory to the last point so if I need to say it louder for those in the back - everyone is different and multiple things can be true at once!

One of the best things that happened for my confidence, growth and progression was being given complete ownership, trust and distance to do my job when I joined Facebook first.

I may have felt shaky a few times but the better I got to know Tony and his thoughts on the Archimedes quote (“Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth”) the more I realised that he would only leave me to “it” if he was sure I could handle “it”.?

Depending on the relationship you have with the person, their own confidence or level - you may need to spell this out to avoid the assumption that something else is going on but I fundamentally believe this is one of the best things you can do for a high performing individual that is looking to carve out their own space and their own impact.?

If you believe micromanagement is the opposite of recognition then you won't have any argument here. The vote of confidence of giving that space to someone on your team sends a strong signal they are doing a good job.

8. Opportunity

Ambitious people that are motivated by the work, the challenge and the impact are likely to feel most recognised when given a new and important opportunity.

Sandra understands this for her teams more than most and has always had a skill for finding those opportunities and making them happen.

I got feedback from a team member once that he was happy with a high rating he had received but really the best recognition he got from me was when I gave him the chance to work with a specific client. He knew that this opportunity was actually what would allow him to show what he could do, work on interesting things and have a genuine impact on the business.

Opportunity might be to lead a project, own a piece of work, present in a meeting or to go on a specific training course. Each of these is investment in a person and sometimes involves taking a step back yourself.

Often these opportunities are what set you up for that promotion or rating that you also care about but more than that they can give you skills and experiences that pay back much further into your career. They give you the chance to stretch and grow and for me that was one of the best gifts I could receive.?

Final thoughts:

• As I’ve mentioned, individuals want different things and you need to check in with them to make sure they are getting what they need from you in terms of communication, feedback and recognition whatever that means to them.

• This is not static and doesn’t happen in a vacuum. If you do exactly what someone asks for they may still not be happy when they see how you treat others or when they lack something they didn’t realise they need. Check in with yourself - am I taking advantage of people, could it be perceived that way if I am missing out on something basic? Is the relative treatment because I have over-personalised this starting to become a problem in itself? Check in with them, has anything changed in their priorities? Are you only doing this in formal 1-1s and sending mixed signals the rest of the time?

• If you have figured this out for each person on your team and you have treated each individual in the way they want to be but they still don’t feel valued then you have gotten to the stage of management where you realise you can’t do it all yourself. Perhaps you are doing everything right but your own manager is neglecting to give attention or kudos to your team. Perhaps stakeholders are treating them badly. Look around for other individuals that might be sending different messages than you are about the value of their work.

• Company culture is a living breathing thing and it can also have an impact on how people feel. Layoffs are an obvious and extreme version of this, restructures are another. Senior leadership may say something that your team is interpreting as an attack on them or their importance. A toxic work environment is in and of itself a message that people aren’t important. As a manager it’s important, even if you can’t fix these things, to be able to identify why your efforts aren’t enough.

• Lastly, recognition in whatever form matters. As the quotes go:?

Maybe you have read this far (thanks!) and are thinking "Nope I don't need, want or care about any of that recognition" in which case I applaud you for being so secure in yourself and so intrinsically motivated that these factors don't impact you. Or you've worked in such great companies with such perfect managers you have never felt what it is like to miss them.

For everyone else, please do the honest self-reflection on what matters to you at a macro career level and on a daily satisfaction level. And for managers consider a "stay interview" or incorporating these conversations into onboarding or check-ins.

Recognition and Motivation are key components to employee performance and so, critical to strategy delivery.

If this is something you or your leadership team need help with then check out my offering on kate-minogue.com

Through a unique combined focus on People, Strategy and Data I am available for a range of consulting and advisory engagements to support and enhance how you deliver on your strategy across Business, Data and Execution challenges and opportunities. Follow me here on Linkedin to learn more.