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| Hugs or High-fives? |
In the previous two posts I shared my personal favorite recognition stories.
This tilt of my head is all about effectively using praise as a form of recognition.
Remember the platinum rule? (It's one of my favorite things to teach.)
"Treat others as they want to be treated."
Positive, impactful praise requires thought; it needs to be tailored to the recipient.
To sharpen your recognition skills, think of each co-worker/direct report/friend and consider the following:
Are they extrinsically or intrinsically motivated? Are
they driven by visible rewards or by the sense of completion and success?
Do they prefer public
or private praise? When
in doubt, praise privately.
Do they prefer simple
or detailed communication? Are
they a bottom-line person or will they benefit from more specific praise?
Do they prefer face-to-face recognition or would it be best to send in an email*? Some "hear" the praise better if it's in writing. They can review it and see the specifics. (Promise me that you will never, ever send constructive feedback in an email, though. You can't control when they'll open it, nor how they will interpret your tone. Promise? Good.)
Do they like high-fives, handshakes, or hugs? Know before you lean in!
Do they prefer Starbucks or Peet's?
Just kidding-- kind of. If you're going to go this route, try to make it less generic. Aim to match the individual's tastes. I once received a gift card to a steakhouse... and I'm a vegetarian.
When in doubt, ASK.
Use me as your fall-guy/gal. Tell your team you read this article on recognition and you want to know what counts as acknowledgement for them. 😊
What type of recognition motivates you?
Who can you recognize TODAY?
But wait! There are several more posts about recognition!
- This one shares the time I was recognized when things went wrong.
- This one is about the time I think I did a really good job at recognizing my group's efforts, even though I broke some rules in the process.
- This one give fresh ideas for recognizing others (beyond a coffee card or mug!)
The comment feature isn't working, but I'd still love to have a conversation! Email me at 53thingsIthinkIknow@gmail.com
Image by Graphics@ HandiHow from Pixabay