Numerous studies show that a major reason many people quit their jobs is that they feel unappreciated. Brains follow hearts to where they’re valued. As I wrote in Do You Focus on the Field of Wheat or Stone on the Hill?, too often managers point out what’s wrong while failing to recognize what’s right. […]
Read post »Early in my career, I reported to Harold, a leader who proudly described his MBE approach – “management by exception.” “If you haven’t heard from me, that’s a good sign,” he explained. “That means I think you’re doing just fine. I only deal with the exceptions. I look for problems and people that need correcting. […]
Read post »A favorite ritual this time of year is decorating our Christmas tree while the movie Christmas Vacation is playing in the background. I’ve watched it often enough to recite most of the dialogue. But after repeated viewings, it still lives up to its tagline – “Yule crack up!” Yes, I do realize how pathetic my […]
Read post »This month is the fortieth anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope run through our community — Waterloo Region. Having lost a leg to cancer, Terry Fox embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research. Terry’s shuffle-and-hop running style took him about 42 kilometers or 26 miles per day! I think jogging […]
Read post »Jake, a busker, walked into a bar and saw a crowd gathered around a table. On the table was an overturned pot with a duck doing a lively dance on top. Jake immediately saw the huge potential of this act. He negotiated with the bar owner and, agreed to buy the duck and pot for […]
Read post »In Canada, the US, and some other countries, fall is a time for thanksgiving. Celebrating and appreciating a bountiful harvest is a powerful tradition from our past. Present research reinforces the power of gratitude in evaluating and extending happiness and satisfaction. Cicero proclaimed, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of […]
Read post »Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman recently studied thousands of leaders on the impact of positive and corrective feedback.
Watch webinar »A study recently published in Organization Science (“Motivational Spillovers from Awards: Crowding Out in a Multitasking Environment”) reviewed the results of data from an attendance award program at one of five laundry plants in the U.S. Midwest. They concluded: “Reward-motivated employees responded positively to the awards by reducing tardiness, but gamed the system to maintain […]
Read post »American president, Thomas Jefferson, once said “the glow of one warm thought is worth more to me than money.” Reinforcing feedback produces a powerful afterglow that raises the positivity ratio, energizes and inspires, and provides the pause that refreshes. This is the perfect time of year for you and your team to reflect back looking […]
Read post »A friend with a past drinking problem has been a devoted member of Alcoholics Anonymous and not touched a drop of alcohol for many years. Recently he gave up most of his weekend to deal with a Client emergency. The next week his manager “thanked him” with an expensive bottle of wine. This breaks one […]
Read post »Pay gets people to show up for work but money is rarely an effective rallying point for high performance. Concentrate on building a culture of success and forward momentum with lots of recognition and appreciation for everyone's contributions.
Read article »Highly effective leaders energize others by noticing and recognizing the field of wheat. They thank, appreciate, recognize, and celebrate accomplishments. We all draw a lot of energy from sincere recognition and honest appreciation.
Read article »The big differences with reward and recognition approaches have to do with how they're used. Making them shallow and crass will threaten to swing attention away from the meaningful issues of principles and purpose and move to self-interest and selfishness.
Read article »Discover the Reward and Recognition approaches that can help you to avoid the pitfalls and pave your organization's pathway to success.
Read article »Whose needs are your recognition and reward systems designed to serve? What are the goals? Are they to manipulate, control, and "motivate?" Or do they build an atmosphere of helpfulness, appreciation, and high energy? How do you know? As with beauty, quality, or customer service, reward and recognition are in the eyes of the beholder.
Read article »Only two groups of people thrive on sincere recognition and genuine appreciation — men and woman. Highly effective leaders give recognition and appreciation up, down, and across the organization and within and among teams and team members.
Read article »Effective reward and recognition is an integrated process, not a bolt-on program. Discover the Personal Recognition and Appreciation approaches that can help you to avoid the pitfalls and pave your pathway to success.
Read article »Effective reward and recognition is an integrated process, not a bolt-on program. Discover the Giving Personal Recognition and Appreciation approaches that can help you to avoid the pitfalls and pave your organization's pathway to success.
Read article »We are either part of the energy problem or part of its solution. There is no neutral zone. We are either net takers or net contributors of energy to others. We need to ask those we're trying to lead or influence about our energy leadership. Highly effective leaders energize others. That energy mobilizes people to action.
Read article »A high level of employee involvement leads to the creation of an effective reward and recognition program.
Read article »