Too many managers think that people are working for them; they don’t realize that they should be working for their employees.
—GARY VAYNERCHUK1
By the time I was a teenager I had accumulated a dozen or so soccer trophies without having won many games. I was regularly praised by my parents and teachers—even when I clearly didn’t deserve it—and was told that I was special. Looking back, I can see how much my ego enjoyed the compliments and awards, but I also see that it gave me an inflated view of myself (which I hope I’ve gotten over at this point in my life). Many of my peers grew up in the same type of environment, constantly being praised and told how great they were. Now, as adults, instead of looking to our parents, teachers, and coaches for compliments, certificates, and trophies, we turn to our managers.
Okay, so younger workers need a lot of praise. That’s pretty clear. But what’s especially challenging for today’s leaders is the frequency with which their employees need that praise. Your team members no longer want to wait a year for a review (and raise). They want much more regular feedback. And if you’re going to be an effective leader, you’re going to have to give it to them.
“Older” workers accuse younger workers of being impatient and entitled. I’ll admit that to some extent, they’re probably right. However, one of the driving forces behind that impatience, entitlement, and associated need for nearly constant praise is technology. Think about it: the folks on your team update their Facebook status, saying that they’ve just finished a big project, and boom, they spend the next day or two soaking up likes, shares, “Nice job!”s, and “You’re awesome!”s from everyone they know. The same thing happens if you, the team leader, post a group congratulations message online.
People on the receiving end of electronic praise feel great right away and pretty good the next day. As a result, they feel more loyal to their team, their leader, and their employer. But gradually life goes back to normal—except for one thing: the people you praised just a few days ago need more praise—and they need it now.
The combination of technology, the instant gratification it has spawned, and dopamine has created a significant addiction problem. I’m perfectly serious about this. Dopamine plays a key role in what’s called the “reward pathway” of the brain. That pathway is stimulated by all sorts of things that give us pleasure—food, sex, drugs, exercise, and yes, praise. In response, the reward system uses dopamine to send a message to the rest of the brain, essentially saying, “Hey, that felt really good; let’s do it again.” That’s how our brain convinces us to eat and have sex—two activities that are essential to perpetuating the species. (When the reward pathway gets hijacked by drugs, alcohol, or other substances, addiction occurs.)
In the case of our jobs, most of us have put two and two together and know that if we work hard and do a good job, we’ll get praised—and that makes us feel excellent. The problem is that because we’ve become so used to being praised by everyone around us, we’ve become addicted to it—in much the same way we’ve become addicted to our devices (or in the case of some people, to coke or other drugs).
In the absence of feedback, it’s sometimes hard to know whether our work matters. So, as a leader, it’s your job to make sure you give it if you want a motivated and happy team. When you praise your employees, they feel a variety of positive emotions, including satisfaction, happiness, and enjoyment, and they’ll work hard to keep earning your recognition. But if they don’t get it—just like any addict going through withdrawal—they’ll feel empty, unfulfilled, unappreciated, and unsuccessful.
“A senior leader for an initiative that I was supporting recognized me after seven months of hard work,” says Vicki Ng, senior program manager of Global University at Adidas. “It reinvigorated me at a time where I felt down from the drag of work and filled my energy tank for quite some time.” But as important as praise is to those of us working away in the trenches, even those at the top of the company organizational chart need praise. “As CEO you often don’t find yourself in a position where your employees are recognizing your work. You’re generally recognizing their work, and that’s the way it should be,” says Rajiv Kumar, president and chief medical officer at Virgin Pulse. “There’s nothing more encouraging to me than conducting a successful board meeting and hearing afterward comments like, ‘This was incredible. We wish that all our portfolio companies would have board meetings like this. You were prepared, you were clear, you were concise.’ That to me was one of the greatest feelings in the world, and it’s where I felt the most recognition and the most meaning.”
Personal recognition can not only make team members want to work harder for you and stay at your company longer; it can also create a lasting positive memory in their minds. Katie Lucas, senior manager of digital content at HBO, has what most people would consider a really cool job. One of her early projects at HBO was working on the relaunch of the Game of Thrones Viewer’s Guide, the ultimate resource for the series, with a huge number of updates after each episode. In order for her to publish the new website ahead of the season 4 premiere, Katie’s team had late nights, dinners at the office, and weekend work sessions. “I worked so much that the brief windows of sleep I had were populated by Game of Thrones dreams, which, as George RR Martin fans also know, are terrifying,” she told me.
The launch was successful, and months later she learned that her team had won an Interactive Emmy Award. “I couldn’t believe it. I grew up just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. In my mind, Emmys were for the Tina Feys of the world, not anyone I knew.” She assumed that the executives would be the only ones to receive credit for winning this coveted award and to attend the ceremony (although she still planned to include it on her résumé). Then, out of the blue, her creative director called and asked if she would like to go to the ceremony in Los Angeles. Katie did, and she spent an amazing evening with a red carpet, Morgan Freeman, and a seat at the Game of Thrones table with the crew that makes the series and their five Emmy statues. “It’s hard to express what that night meant to me. At first it was hard to believe that I deserved the ticket. I remarked as much to my manager at the time, who pointed out that I’d put in more hours than anyone. Today, that Emmy ticket hangs above my desk.”
Although many leaders don’t offer much feedback or recognition, doing so can have significant individual, team, and company-wide benefits. I had a conversation with David Novak, the cofounder and former CEO of Yum! Brands, about how he created a culture of gratitude at a billion-dollar company with more than ninety thousand employees. David would hand out personalized rubber chickens, cheese heads, or wind-up walking teeth to employees who “walk the talk.” He personalized his recognition and avoided giving out generic plaques or certificates, which showed that he cared and understood what would motivate his employees—or at least make them laugh! “We built a culture of recognition with each group, leader, and brand embracing recognition in their own way around the globe,” he said. “As a result, we were able to reduce team member turnover from more than 150 percent to less than 100 percent by recognizing people throughout the company.”2
Here are a few more examples of the value of recognition:
• Employees who say that they’re consistently recognized at work in ways that are meaningful to them are eleven times more likely to spend their careers with one company and seven times more likely to be completely satisfied in their jobs.3
• Organizations that have formal recognition programs have six times greater operating margins and employees with the highest engagement levels.4
• Employees who are recognized are twice as likely to be highly engaged at work.5
Money might enable you to recruit some brilliant minds, but they won’t stay with you unless they feel recognized and appreciated. As my mentor Daniel Pink says in his book Drive, “We leave lucrative jobs to take low-paying ones that provide a clearer sense of purpose.”6 In the short-term money may feel like a sweet reward, and it’s always nice to be able to buy groceries and pay the rent, but in the long-term we crave meaning. Recognition has a more powerful effect on our lives because it makes us feel that we matter. According to Norihiro Sadato, a professor at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan, “To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much a social reward as being rewarded by money.”7 Compliments can help you alleviate stress, make you feel more confident, and motivate you to strive for excellence.
This isn’t to say that no one cares about money. Of course they do. However, on average, while money provides some motivation for our teammates to do their work, recognition makes them actually want to do it. How we feel is more important than how much we earn. In one study almost four out of five employees reported that their most meaningful recognition was more fulfilling than rewards or gifts.8
In an experiment by Duke professor Dan Ariely,9 a group of employees at a semiconductor factory at Intel in Israel received one of three messages at the start of their workweek, each promising a different reward for accomplishing all their work in a day.10 The three emails included these incentives: a voucher for a free pizza, a cash bonus, and a rare compliment from their manager. A control group received no message at all. After the first day the pizza group’s productivity increased by 6.7 percent over the control group, the compliment group boosted its productivity by 6.6 percent, and the cash bonus group increased its productivity by 4.9 percent. After the second day those with the cash bonus actually performed 13.2 percent worse than the control group, and by the end of the week the cash group had lost 6.5 percent in productivity and cost the company more. At the end of the experiment, the group that received the rare managerial compliment did best of all. Clearly, personal recognition matters—even more than pizza!
A recent study by McKinsey reached similar conclusions, finding that nonfinancial incentives such as praise from an immediate manager, attention from leaders, and opportunities to lead projects were more effective in boosting engagement than financial incentives like pay, cash bonuses, and stock options.11 Sixty-seven percent of executives, managers, and employees said praise from management was very or extremely effective, compared to 52 percent who said the same of increases in base pay. In the Virgin Pulse study, when we asked employees what would make them more engaged at work, over a third said “more recognition.”12 Researchers in Canada asked the same question and got an even stronger answer: 58 percent said “give recognition.”13
One explanation for money’s lack of effectiveness as a motivator may be that too many managers give raises and bonuses only to prevent employees from leaving, not to reward performance. Frequent, performance-based bonuses might be more effective, especially considering how much it costs to replace an employee in terms of dollars, resources, and training time.
Another problem with using money as a motivator is that although employees may receive a jolt of excitement when they first get a cash bonus, once the money’s spent the excitement disappears, and they want more money. The more cash bonuses you give, the more your employees will expect. You’ll never be able to keep up. It’s yet another type of addiction. So before it’s too late, start giving more recognition and stop relying on money to drive performance.
Throughout your day there are countless opportunities to compliment your teammates, and that can make all the difference in their work experience and satisfaction. The following chart shows five of the most common situations in which it’s appropriate to compliment your teammates.
Five Situations in Which to Give a Compliment
Situation: In the moment
How to Handle It: You don’t always need to plan when you’re going to compliment your employees so don’t be afraid to be spontaneous. When you recognize someone in the moment, it comes off as more authentic.
Situation: During a meeting
How to Handle It: Before your meeting, think about your remarks and how and when you’ll deliver them. I recommend that you start the compliment by acknowledging the entire team. Then single out the individual and explain why they have made a valuable contribution. This way, you’re less likely to upset the rest of the team.
Situation: In passing
How to Handle It: If you happen to be walking past an employee you were planning to compliment, pull them aside and do it. But make it quick (and sincere, of course) because you’re both probably rushing somewhere important.
How to Handle It: If you want to praise a remote employee, either call or set up a videoconference. That’s much more personal than sending a text or emailing.
Situation: In a formal review
How to Handle It: The easiest time to give compliments is during a formal performance review. But don’t just stop at the compliment—spend some time explaining why the employee deserves it.
As I’ve discussed, there are various ways to recognize your employees. Obviously not all of them will resonate with everyone. Some people, such as Katie Vachon, merchandise manager of women’s apparel at Puma, will prefer public recognition in front of their peers (or a larger group), whereas others, like Chris Gumiela, vice president of marketing and advertising at MGM National Harbor, prefer a private pat on the back. “I don’t need hyperbole or to be singled out, instead it is a simple note of thanks and gratitude that goes furthest.”
Some may be motivated by cash, others by less tangible means. “There is no skirting the truth. I do find satisfaction from recognition. Probably more satisfaction from someone recognizing my hard work than I do from being offered a higher salary or bonus,” says Stephanie Bixler, vice president of technology at Scholastic. “The lead of our consulting practice was proud of our efforts and recognized our hard work on several occasions in our team room. This commendation and recognition made me feel like my presence on earth made a difference.”
The best way to figure out how to maximize the effectiveness of your recognition—and which approach/approaches will work best—is to simply ask. But be prepared for some pretty honest answers, such as the one I got from Sam Howe, director of business development at MSLGROUP. “I think there is a tendency among older generations to treat millennials like we are kindergarteners, and they offer us ice cream socials and pizza for our hard work,” he said. “Now, I am for ice cream and pizza as much as the next guy, but I would like to be recognized at work, as often as earned, by being given more advanced titles (and associated compensation), responsibilities and influence. In essence, we should be rewarded by being given a voice and seat at the proverbial leadership table. And by being treated like adults, not a Trophy Generation to be placated.”
Don’t be afraid to have a little fun. Jill Zakrzewski, customer experience manager at Verizon, told me about taking her team on an expedition to a toy store before a recent leadership meeting. “Instead of giving out trophies or certificates, we recognized our employees with a Rubik’s cube for best organized, temporary tattoos for most committed, a Transformer for most adaptable, and an Olaf figurine for most likely to keep their cool,” she says. “Not only was this a hilarious award ceremony, but everyone was pleased to re-gift their awards to the children in their families.”
Another big issue to think about when it comes to recognizing your employees is how often to do it. Although there’s no magic number, I can almost guarantee that it needs to be more frequent than you’re doing it right now. According to a study by WorldatWork, the most common type of recognition companies have is for years of service,14 and in my experience, that tends to come in five-year increments. That may work for older employees. (Those aged fifty-five to sixty-four tend to have an average tenure on the job of more than ten years.15) But in the case of younger workers, who typically stay no more than three years with any one employer, most will have moved on before you’ve had a chance to celebrate their achievements.16
Some younger workers, like Laura Petti, a line producer at CNBC’s Closing Bell, get—and appreciate—daily feedback. “After our show each day we do a postmortem meeting and discuss the highs and lows of the show,” she says. “This daily feedback keeps pushing us forward, so we never settle for anything less than the best we can do each and every day.” For others, once a week is plenty (although that may seem like a lot to you). Sam Worobec, director of training at Chipotle Mexican Grill, says that pretty much any interval is okay, as long as it’s less than a year. “This could be once a quarter or every six months. It doesn’t matter. It just needs to be more frequently than the performance review cycle,” he says. “No employee should ever go to a performance review with questions about how they’ll be rated, especially your senior leaders.”
As you’re thinking about how, and how often, to recognize your employees, there’s one other important element to keep in mind: although not all employees appreciate public recognition, a lot of younger workers find it motivating. When you praise a teammate in front of everyone else, it makes you both look good. Four out of every five employees say that seeing someone else’s achievements be recognized makes them want to work harder as well, in part because they want to receive the same kind of recognition.17
The spectator effect is especially strong among people who have been instrumental in the praised employee’s success. “While being recognized for my own achievements can be rewarding, seeing my teammates win and receive accolades provides me with a greater sense of accomplishment,” says Bryan Taylor, vice president and general manager at Enterprise. “When I see those who have worked relentlessly achieve their goals and I have been able to help them get there by overcoming challenges along the way, it is the most fulfilling recognition.”
Finally, don’t underestimate the value of a personal touch. Because we spend so much time online, it’s super easy to shoot off a tweet, post something to Facebook or the company website or newsletter, or send an email blast. And while that type of praise is nice, in-person, face-to-face interaction is far more effective.
Despite its wonderful benefits to those who receive it, recognition and praise may inadvertently lead to jealousy or other negative feelings in those who hear or see others being recognized but aren’t getting what (in their minds) they deserve. They may feel bitter or angry that their work isn’t being appreciated or think that the person you praised doesn’t deserve it. And if they haven’t received recognition for an especially long time (again, in their minds), they may feel insecure and start to convince themselves that they’ll never earn your respect or praise or get a promotion. At this point, if they quit, you and your team will be shorthanded, and you’ll have to figure out how to replace them. If they don’t quit, I can pretty much guarantee that their productivity will suffer and that they’ll start to poison the attitudes of everyone else on the team.
Here are two examples of situations in which recognizing others can have unintended consequences, and how to best handle them.
When it comes to giving compliments, why limit yourself to individual employees when you can (and should) recognize your entire team? That way, people won’t feel left out or jealous. Recognizing your team as a whole also creates a sense of belonging and reinforces relationships between employees. You can recognize the team weekly, monthly, or on a project basis. Here’s how.
1. Share a specific story of how the team accomplished a goal by pointing out each team member’s contribution and talking about the specific behaviors, strengths, and outcomes that made the goal a reality. For instance, if someone on your team prepared a sales presentation and another closed a new account, point out both accomplishments. Without the presentation, the salesperson would have been unprepared to close the deal, and without the salesperson, the presentation would have just sat there and never been translated into new business. If you happen to have a slacker on your team, pull them aside and have a talk about what needs to change. Give clear, specific feedback, achievable goals, and a deadline by when you want to see measurable improvement. If the employee doesn’t comply, it may be time to start looking for a replacement.
2. Encourage peer-to-peer recognition. Compliments from you, their leader, are great, but team members need to know that the people they work with appreciate them. Set aside some time at the beginning or the end of a meeting for each team member to say something she appreciates about another. Push for 360 evaluations, in which teammates offer feedback to one another, so that they get into the habit of not just improving themselves but also contributing to the success of others.
3. Evaluate your team’s performance. In addition to the individual evaluations you no doubt do, start doing regular team reviews, noting the overall accomplishments and areas that need improvement. Every quarter (or six months or a year or whenever works best for you), hold a meeting to discuss where you are and how you got there, where you’re going and how you’re going to get there, and what your team needs to do to be even more effective than they already are. Ideally, this won’t be a just-you type of review. You want all team members to participate, share their progress, and talk about the obstacles they’re facing. This will help your teammates better support those who are struggling.
As a leader, in addition to praising your employees, it’s important to express your gratitude to them. The difference between praise and gratitude is subtle but important. In a few words, praise is about making them feel good about themselves, whereas gratitude is about expressing how appreciative you are of their efforts. Put a little differently, praise is an attaboy, whereas gratitude is a sincere thank-you. Again, the difference is subtle but important. Although about half of us regularly say thank you to people we’re related to, only 15 percent say thank you at work, and more than a third of those in a recent survey reported that their manager never says thank you.18 Another study found that the workplace is one of the least thankful places around, with 60 percent of people never expressing thanks at work at all.19 Amy Linda, manager of global talent at Estée Lauder, sums it up nicely. “It takes so little for someone to show appreciation, but people rarely do it.” Now that’s depressing, isn’t it?
The big irony is that showing gratitude is an incredibly effective (and equally low-cost) way of increasing productivity. In one study a university divided its fund-raisers into two separate groups. The first contacted alumni the same way they always had: by picking up the phone, making calls, and asking for money. The second group received a motivating talk from the director of annual giving, expressing appreciation for the work they were about to do. A week later the second group had made 50 percent more calls than the first group.20
Being on the receiving end of sincere gratitude can be quite motivating. But so can being on the giving end. Gratitude is such a powerful force that it will prevent you—and your team—from getting into arguments that are counterproductive and lower morale. If you’re grateful for your teammates’ hard work and support, you’ll be able to prevent arguments before they occur. According to research by the University of Kentucky, participants who ranked higher on gratitude were less likely to retaliate against others even when given negative feedback and were more empathetic and less vengeful.21 Aside from preventing work conflicts, gratitude can reduce social comparisons and unnecessary competition, because appreciation brings people closer together rather than pushing them further apart.
The simple act of regularly acknowledging what you’re grateful for is so powerful that it can produce significant results even if you don’t tell anyone else about it. According to Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino, people who count their own blessings are more attentive, alert, energetic, happy about life in general, and apt to engage in health-promoting behaviors, such as going to the gym.22 Other studies have found that grateful people sleep better, are less likely to get sick, have lower blood pressure, feel more connected to others, and are more helpful.
Creating a culture of gratitude is truly a win-win for everyone involved. If you tell your employees what you’re grateful for and create a workplace environment in which everyone feels supported, they’ll spread positive feelings to others by helping them on projects or recognizing their good work. In other words, gratitude is contagious—people who receive it are more likely to “infect” others. Grateful people manage stress better and are less likely to feel destructive emotions such as envy or resentment. They’re also happier with their jobs. And as you no doubt know, happy employees work harder and make for happier customers. And happier customers lead to happy shareholders.
The following is an exercise that will give you some insight into how much gratitude you’re showing to those around you.
After you’ve finished this individual exercise, schedule a meeting with your entire team and do the following exercise. This way, you are reflecting on yourself before you hear your team’s thoughts about what they’re grateful for in those they work with. If you don’t know what you’re grateful for, how are you supposed to appreciate the contributions of others? I believe that you first have to become a grateful person before you start to encourage gratitude in others. Practice what you preach!
Showing gratitude doesn’t take much effort, yet it can make a significant impact in your work relationships and overall well-being. Here are three ways to show gratitude to your teammates.
1. Instead of texting or emailing a compliment to one of your employees, acknowledge them in person in front of your team. This will encourage your teammates to work harder to receive a similar compliment and show that hard work is valued in your organization.
2. Make a small gesture that surprises and delights a teammate. For instance, instead of messaging that you appreciate their hard work, write them a note on a piece of paper. This will show more effort and care than an electronic message. You could also take them out for lunch or put a gift on their desk, such as a mug or a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant.
3. Be specific when showing your appreciation. Give a concrete example of something your teammate did for you and how it made a difference in your life. For instance, talk about a time when they helped a colleague solve a problem and how it assisted the team in accomplishing its goals. This way, the teammate can quickly reflect back on the work they did and understand why it mattered to the team.