For every employee of the month award lovingly displayed, there’s another performance award gathering dust in some forgotten corner. What’s the difference awards destined for the spotlight and ones destined for the garbage? Hint: it’s not the prestige of the award. Heck, at least one Oscar ended up in the trash. During this episode of the Comm Capers we discuss the deficiencies of many workplace award programs and the difference between appreciation and recognition.
At the end of the day, it’s about the value the recipient attaches to the award. And, I’m not talking about $100 bills taped to the award’s shiny bottom. For recognition to be effective, it should highlight something that the recipient is proud of, even if it’s not what the recognizer values most. It’s not that difficult of a concept. If you give a 10-year black belt an award for being the prettiest princess, she likely will kick your butt. Literally. Likewise if you recognize a coworker for creating a logo they think is ugly, they won’t truly appreciate it and they may actually respect you less.
While recognition missteps can result in bruised relationships (and possibly bruised ribs), get it right and both the recognized and the recognizer get a powerful knife-hand strike of the brain chemical serotonin. Those perpetually high on the words of Simon Sinek (I’m looking at you Kari), will immediately know that serotonin is a “selfless” brain chemical that impacts how we feel about people. However, if your brain is not steeped in oxytocin (the love chemical) for Simon, this episode provides an overview of key brain chemicals and explains why poor recognition systems actually trigger “selfish” brain chemicals such as endorphins and dopamine.
If a company has a broken culture, putting together a recognition program is a visible way the company can show it’s taking steps to fix things. However, as a stand-alone tactic, it can do more harm than good. More important than shiny trophies or bonuses is having a culture rooted in authentic appreciation. And unless you’re Meryl Streep and have won three Oscars, authenticity is not something you can fake. While leaders really need to lead the charge in shaping cultural change, there are things that employees at all levels can do that may or may not involve cake.
My favorite thing for this episode is shameless self promotion x2. Kari created a cute logo for my freelance writing business — The Write Meaning.
Kari’s new favorite thing is painting with acrylic inks. She used the results as a background in the day planner/bullet journal she made for herself. Isn’t she one talented gal?
