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Top 3 Mistakes People Make In Giving Recognition

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By Lynette Lange, Crown Trophy

Mistake #1: People need recognition The first mistake people make is they don’t recognize, affirm or thank people enough. There is a belief, that people don’t need that. Research shows quite the opposite is true. People do need recognition. Your employees, spouse, kids, team members, etc. all light up when something about them is recognized by someone they care about. RECOGNITION does matter, you should give it regularly.

Mistake # 2: Lack of Specificity The second mistake people make is they may feel they are recognizing others, but they are too generic in that recognition. They say things like “Good job”, “Way to go”, “Thank You”. Those words are always nice to hear, but, recognition that has meaning and change behavior or insure a behavior repeats, must be specific. Rather than “Good job” say something that specifically describes what that person did you liked. “I’m so impressed with the way you handled yourself, you stayed calm and made your point” or “Thank you, I really appreciate how you solved this problem, making sure everyone is happy” The concept is really quite simple, if you want to see a behavior, trait, skill, etc. repeated and perhaps repeated by others, who hear the appreciation given, you need to be specific.

Mistake #3: When objects lose meaning The third mistake most people make is what I see when people give an item as a token of their appreciation. Objects that represent your appreciation are great! That is not the mistake, I love walking into people’s homes or offices and seeing an “award” they got. Or seeing the customer service person with lapel pins, plastered on their shirt, or vest. I know that item represents something they are very proud of. They know why they got it, and keep it out, because it reminds them each time they look at it, what someone saw in them, or believed about them.

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