Kouzes & Posner, Chapter 11 Reading Reflection
Chapter 11 covers the topic of recognition. For me this topic is the most generally applicable of all the topics covered so far. It is the most important, but also the hardest to get right. Recognition is equally important at work, at home with partners and children, volunteering and in schools.
Kouzes & Posner start out the chapter with stating “Recognition is about acknowledging good results and reinforcing good performance. It’s about shaping an environment in which everyone’s contribution are noticed and appreciated"(281). I think the focus here is on good. There are too many situations when the negative is sought out, presented, highlighted and dissected. Not that we should not identify mistakes and learn from them. But, when supervisors or managers only look for mistakes and not for contributions and efforts made by colleagues, it will be seen as negative. The positive actions and hard work that lead to the results in the first place will never be recognized if the focus is on mistakes only. For example, in the field of Safety, we often talk about ‘catching someone doing it right’. This means frequent and quick recognition when a colleague performs a safe act. This could be strapping on a seatbelt before driving, helping to lift a heavy box or holding a ladder steady when another colleague is on it, trying to retrieve an item from a high shelf. When a supervisor or manager sees this safe behavior and thanks the employee immediately for working safe, the employee will remember this positive response to a behavior and most likely repeat it again. This type of recognition also has the benefit of other employees seeing or hearing it. It gives them the chance to adopt the safe behavior(305).
The best practice of recognition is just as important in family life or volunteer work. As most parents would agree, while it could be very easy to focus more on the mistakes or misbehavior of children, it creates disharmony and does not teach desirable behaviors nearly as well as focusing and reinforcing the positive actions of children. For example, recognizing a child for an effort made on a school assignment, even if it did not result in a good grade, will most likely motivate the child to try again and maybe even harder the next time, than pointing out that the grade was below expectation and she or he could have done better. I would be interested in hearing about other examples you might have that demonstrate how well the right recognition at the right time works.
Another important subject covered in this chapter is the importance of finding out what kind of recognition people like. (296-298) For some it might be a verbal thank you or a card. Others prefer tangible items, such as a bonus, gift card for coffee, or a raise. It is important to recognize these preferences and not judge employees by them. In order to find out what motivates employees, managers, supervisors or leaders have to get to know them. P&K spend quite a few pages talking about getting to know employees, building trust and taking risks by talking about personal or family life, in addition to work life. This is easy to do when you have employees in close proximity? As a leader, if you see your employees or colleagues often, it is much easier to find out what kind of recognition will be most beneficial. But what about remote workforces?
Getting to know a remote workforce is much more difficult and finding out what kind of recognition works best for them is even harder. Also, it is much more challenging to give immediate recognition when your workforce is miles away. I used to work for an airline, as a Flight Attendant Manager. My group of employees where all over the world and my ability to ‘catch them doing something right’ was very limited. I was able to use pre flight briefings, newsletters, written thank you notes or twice yearly performance reviews as opportunities for recognition, but often did not know the Flight Attendant very well and therefore had very little knowledge if the type of recognition I had chosen, was the most desired by him or her. In addition to the lack of proximity, my group of direct reports changed often and I struggled even more getting to know them. What ideas do you have how to handle this kind of absentee relationship?
I still work with a remote workforce and catching an employee performing a safe act is not any easier. However, at least now I have the opportunity to model recognition to supervisors when I see them for training twice a year. The ability to teach them and learn from their field experience gives me beter insight what type of recognition I might advocate in training. Their participation it has increased our joint ability to deliver timely recognition to field employees. Just like P&K mentioned in previous chapters, a leader cannot do it by herself. It takes every team member to create and maintain a successful recognition program. Claudia Beermann
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Comments
I agree with Claudia's comment about catching a person doing something right. It models and encourages appropriate and desired behavior in others. And indeed it is difficult to follow this suggestion when dealing with a remote workforce. I too deal with reports who are not in close proximity to me and who I don't see on a frequent basis. Although these people don't work far from me (only in different buildings on campus), they may as well be located in the UK, for I have no idea what they are even working on in any given day. I try to solve this dilemma by having one-on-one meetings on a monthly basis (and I protect that time religiously), which affords the employee an opportunity to reflect on their work, successes and roadblocks. During this time, I ask them to tell me how they feel they are performing and if there is anything I can do to help them be more successful or to enjoy their jobs more. I also encourage positive immediate feedback from faculty and ask them to be the ones to catch staff members doing something right. I realize these methods won't work in every situation for leaders, but they do help solve some of the problems that exist when supervising people who are separated by distance.
An unfortunate reality in many organizations (and families) is that employees (or children) often don't hear anything from their leaders when they are doing what is expected of them and instead only hear criticism when mistakes are made. We need to frequently remind ourselves as leaders (and remind others who lead) that it's extremely important to recognize when someone is performing their job well and to communicate that recognition often. This endeavor effectively eliminates the veil of doubt that sometimes creeps in when employees' efforts go unnoticed and may produce eventual apathy. As a matter of fact, when I need to know if I’m doing a good job, I’ll ask my boss for feedback – but I admit I only ask when I know I’ve recently accomplished some things I’m especially proud of but haven’t yet heard any praises or recognition for that effort. It works for me!
The most crucial element for leaders to realize is how little it actually takes to bolster a person’s confidence and, thus, ongoing good work. One very small positive comment can not only make a person’s day, but holds the power to even change a life or career direction (yes, I believe a comment can be that strong). Likewise, the opposite has the potential for destruction that a person may never be able to heal from. (See my reflection on Chapter 10 for a personal story on feedback that quickly destroys rather than constructs desired performance.) When destructive comments are made, it becomes crucial for leaders to recognize when they have communicated poorly and rectify/clarify with the receiver as quickly as possible.
Positive feedback is a huge motivator, and more leaders need to embrace that notion and recognize the enormous power such a simple act can wield.
Posted by: Cheri Ptacek | March 30, 2008 05:00 PM
I was actually going to discuss recognition as it relates to remote workers in my blog, but ended going a different direction. I am glad to see it discussed here as it's importance is increasing every year with the burgeoning world of the internet.
I work from home and since I've been in school I've cut way back on face-to-face meetings and rely almost exclusively on email. Cheri is absolutely right that a simple, positive comment (even as K&P say, just "thank you") can mean the world. I have an email folder of all of the random graciously worded emails I've gotten from people I've worked with over the years. They made me glow when I received them and I can return to them over and over if I'm ever having a bad day. It's priceless to me and really keeps me going when things are tough or just blah. They also remind me to recognize others.
As I said in my post, recognition and random acts of gratitude become a force of their own - a cycle of positivity that is important in every facet of life.
Posted by: Janelle | March 30, 2008 07:18 PM