Does Recognition Get You In A State?

Like most managers, Brian Reynolds believed that his team had its strengths and its weaknesses. When asked in an employee satisfaction survey "Do you recognize good performance in your team?" he answered with a resounding "Of course I do!" However the following question stumped him. "How frequently do you make a point of recognizing good performance face-to-face?" His answer had to be "Never". "Surely they already know they are performing well? What would be the point of me a...

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employee, recognition, employee recognition, motivation, employee motivation, rewards, staff rewards

Article Body:

Like most managers, Brian Reynolds believed that his team had its strengths and its weaknesses. When asked in an employee satisfaction survey "Do you recognize good performance in your team?" he answered with a resounding "Of course I do!" However the following question stumped him. "How frequently do you make a point of recognizing good performance face-to-face?" His answer had to be "Never". "Surely they already know they are performing well? What would be the point of me adding my comments?"

Recognition and reward for role-model performance and behavior is, perhaps, one of the most motivational acts that anyone can do for another human being and it is worth spending a little time to analyze the mechanism that converts recognition into the self esteem, high morale and motivation that results.

In everyday life we describe people who are fretting or upset as being in a "state". Although, in psychological terms, this is a very true statement, being emotionally troubled is only one of a vast array of "states" that we transition through as we live our lives. The "state" of motivation is the condition that all employers want their people to be in all day long. In this "state" they will be hard working, productive, efficient and will display only appropriate behaviors to those around them.

In reality people are only human; they have a limited amount of stamina, patience, capability and competence. They may only be capable of a limited daily amount of excellent performance.

To guarantee that someone will adopt the correct "state", it is a simple matter of attaching or "anchoring" that state to a good feeling. Somewhere deep in the psyche there is a storage vessel that holds the memory of all of these "states" and their associated feelings. When a set of circumstances come together in our lives we step into what we feel is an appropriate "state" and that brings feelings that have been filed away with it. This explains why some people "see red" when they are confronted by disagreement. This "state" is their only response to differences of opinion.

Compare the person who "sees red" with a skilled negotiator. The negotiator has spent a great deal of time training herself to be able to access a complete encyclopedia of "states" to deal with different situations. She may have to be calm, enthusiastic, skeptical, humorous, poker-faced or downright angry at the push of a button.

The principle of using recognition as an anchor for appropriate behavior works in the same way. A good example is the "Employee of the week" board in fast food restaurants. It may seem trite to the rest of the world but for those guys, having your picture up there in a frame provides reinforcement that the way they worked was good and they will be encouraged to repeat that set of behaviors because they have been publicly recognized.

Brian Reynolds has not yet discovered the importance of his role in life as an anchor to motivate his team.

During the Christmas season, summer and its body-conscious state of mind

Whether it's sharing cookies and candies at work, or having an evening out

at a party or dinner, you can have Christmas food and enjoy it. While you seem

to be eating heartily with a smile, the key is to have a secret strategy of

moderation. It involves sticking to a plan that can be called 'Eating on a

Budget.'

'Eating on a Budget' is not about the cost of what is eaten, but about the

quantity of what is eaten. It is important that a 'budget' or eating in

moderation plan is developed because it is almost impossible to avoid exposure

to a lot of cookies, candies and other sweets at Christmas. At work, you may

risk appearing like the Grinch who stole Christmas if your response will always

be something like, 'Uh..no..bah humbug' all the time that some Christmas goodies

are offered. It will seem as if you aren't in the spirit of the holidays

especially since at that time of year everyone is usually in a festive and more

relaxed mood, and the pace at work is usually slower.

A practical way to partake in Christmas goodies, for example, is to

substitute some holiday cookies for say the bagel that you usually have with

breakfast or for a mid-morning snack. And instead of just taking one cookie,

from the platter, which is noticeable and likely will encourage a colleague to

tell you to have more, take three instead. That's where the plan can come into

play. You can then enjoy the cookies over two or more hours, because nobody will

be watching how you really eat. You can always have a few candies, one cookie or

a cookie and a half by your desk and that way it will seem as if you are

heartily enjoying the holiday treats.

Another strategy is to bring - bake or buy - low calorie Christmas cookies

and candies to work to counteract others that are being offered. Since eating

healthy is highly encouraged, health-conscious cookies will not be looked down

upon so long as they taste great. A box of sugar-free Christmas chocolate

candies for example will look just as delightful as regular chocolate candies.

It's interesting to note that in a poll sponsored by the National Confectioners

Association in 2004, chocolate was the favorite food gift that Americans said

they preferred to receive for the holidays. The lowly and much maligned fruit

cake was last on the list. The second favorite holiday food gift was a fruit

basket and a plate of cookies was third on the list, according to the

Association.

For an occasion such as a Christmas party or a dinner, including Christmas

Dinner, where larger quantities and selection of food is available, the 'Eating

on a Budget' plan means that serving portions and the choice of food selected

should be carefully watched.

At a party where more desserts and sweets are likely to be available, a few of

the selections can be sampled. If the urge to try everything can't be resisted,

then do so, but then second helpings have to be severely limited. The same is

somewhat true for Christmas Dinners. One big difference is that the food served

during Christmas Dinner will be heavier, so by selecting portions wisely, one

can always say truthfully that the stomach is full.

And indeed, after a sumptuous Holiday Dinner, your body is likely to be full

from food and your soul full of joy from sharing another memorable holiday

tradition with family, friends and loved ones.