Recognition Starts With You

If you want to be recognised for the good work that you do, but it’s not happening, then I have a question for you. When was the last time you recognised someone for something they did?

In order to be recognised for doing good work, we not only need to do a good job, but we also need to recognise other people too.

If there is no culture of recognition then someone needs to start it, and why not be that someone.

I know this might sound a little bit self serving, but giving recognition is one of the best ways of increasing the quality of service and work that people do, it reinforces positives behaviours, which will then lead to further improvement, and it’s also great for morale.

Ask yourself why you want recognition, and what the impact of positive reinforcement will have on you.

I know for me, that when I get good feedback it encourages me to continue and try and do an even better job next time.

But how does a culture of recognition start?

This really came home to me the other day, I was out running, and in the opposite direction a runner was coming and as I approached they smiled and said good morning.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, there is nothing unusual in that, but actually that’s not the case.

I started running about 2 years ago, and I would often pass people and there would be zero interaction, no comment at all, which was something unusual for me, because when I would do something like that back home when I lived in Leeds people would always say hi.

I was pretty disappointed that people never said anything, I thought it was a bit disrespectful and then it occurred to me that, I was being just as disrespectful too as I wasn’t saying hello either.

So I decided that maybe someone just needed to initiate it, I usually saw the same people every time I ran, so I started to say hello or good morning as I ran passed them.

The people were always very polite, and when I said good morning they would always smile and respond.

After a few weeks, what I noticed was that people would smile and say hello as I approached them, they didn’t wait for me to say hello.

It’s the same with recognition, if you are in a culture where there is no recognition or positive feedback provided, then it just needs someone to start it.

This doesn’t mean we need to fake positive feedback, we can just start by thanking people, but when we see a job well done we shouldn’t hesitate to mention it.

And if we start that culture of positive feedback, then we will be complimented and receive positive comments when we do a good job ourselves too.

So if you want to be recognised for the good work that you do, start recognising people for the good work that they do.

Gordon Tredgold

#Leadership Principles