

You've served up regular  recognition cocktails of programs, plaques, bonuses, and fun.  In fact, you would consider a few of your creative  recognition programs to be "best practices." Perhaps you've even written a blog post or two about them. You've spent lots of money... you've put in heartfelt effort. And then... the employee survey results come in. It's not enough. They want more.

<em style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>What if your recognition cocktails don't work?</strong></em>

<img title="More..." alt="" src="http://letsgrowleaders.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif" />

You think...
<blockquote><strong>"How are we missing the mark?  Let's ask the team.... "</strong></blockquote>
And so you form a task force to come up with even more creative cocktails of programs, plaques, bonuses, and fun...  and the cycle continues.

<strong><em>Recognition isn't always shiny.</em></strong>
<h2>Imagine There's No Programs</h2>
Let's get a little John Lennon here.

<em><strong>What if there were no formal recognition programs?</strong></em>

What else would you do?

<strong>Here are some thoughts... please add yours: </strong>
<ul>
	<li>Ask each person how they would like to be recognized</li>
	<li>Say "thank you" more frequently</li>
	<li>Write more hand written notes</li>
	<li>Publicly celebrate and share more best practices</li>
	<li>Provide more developmental assignments</li>
	<li>Go out-of-the-way to spend time at the beginning of each meeting celebrating success</li>
	<li>Understand which accomplishments mean the most to the individuals on the team</li>
	<li>Slow down and really understand the nuances and challenges of what your team members are working on?</li>
	<li>Connect</li>
	<li>Bring in more bagels?</li>
	<li>?</li>
</ul>
Formal recognition programs have their place... and can be vital to the overall health of organizations. But... it's never enough. Imagine all the people...

<em><strong>And then again, I just created another task force... </strong></em>

<strong>Leadership is never handled.</strong>

See Also:

<a href="http://leadchangegroup.com/5-reasons-your-recognition-is-backfiring/">5 Reason's Your Recognition is Backfiring
</a><a title="Why Isn’t This Incentive Program Working?" href="http://letsgrowleaders.com/2013/01/18/incentive_programs/">Why Isn't This Incentive Program Working?
</a><a title="Recognition Power Words:  The Phrases that Mean the Most" href="http://letsgrowleaders.com/2012/09/08/recognition-power-words/">Recognition Power Words:  The Phrases That Mean the Most
</a><a title="Cheer in the Next Gear:  How to Make Your Support Count" href="http://letsgrowleaders.com/2012/10/25/how_to_make_your_cheering_count/">Cheer in the Next Gear</a>