The Heart Of Business

By:  Craig S. Galati

I remember when I used to be  an employee at another firm.  I did some wonderful work  for which my boss  received the credit.  It didn’t really bother me at the time.  My boss owned the firm and if he hadn’t brought the project into the office, I would not have been able to work on it.  But, it would’ve been nice to get some recognition, or credit, at least from him.

When I became  the owner of a firm, I found myself in a strange position.  I was now being recognized for other’s work.  I found it very ironic—I didn’t get the credit when I actually did the work, and now I was getting credit for the ideas, talent, and hard work of others.

I remembered how it felt when I was working for someone else, and vowed that I would make sure our clients knew who the author of the work really was.  I also remembered how a little bit of recognition would have gone a long way with me and thought perhaps others would feel the same.  Upon reflection, in addition to it being “the right thing to do,” there are a number of positive benefits to ensuring that people are recognized for their accomplishments:

Recognition is motivating—I’ve found that one of the most motivating things a leader can do is to recognize others for their accomplishments.  This recognition, done with sincerity and meaning, will motivate many people.  While it won’t work for everyone, it’s a great start for your company.

Recognition gives people ownership and responsibility—When people are recognized and given credit for their work to a client, it increases their sense  of responsibility.  They will take ownership of the work,  have a stronger connection to the client, and feel more responsible  for making sure the work meets or exceeds the client’s needs.  No longer are they faceless  people back at the office working on a client’s project—they become faces of the project to the client, and people take that seriously.

Recognition gives you an opportunity to demonstrate action—I’m sure that all of us say we care about the people we work with.  Recognizing others gives you an opportunity to “walk your talk.”  In most organizations, walking the talk is certainly harder than talking it.  Giving recognition is a good and easy start toward living your values and demonstrating them to those around you.  It can also start the ball rolling so others will feel comfortable as well.  An office which recognizes the talents of others is a strong office and exudes a positive culture. 

Recognition frees you up to work on other things—If clients know who’s really working on their assignments, they’re more likely to call those employees rather than you for the simple things.  Just think about how much time that will free up for you to work on strategic initiatives that will benefit your clients even more.  I’ve found that most clients want answers as soon as possible,  so calling the people who are working daily on their project is the best way for them to get the  answers they need in a timely and effective way.

Recognizing teams and individuals within your organization can have many benefits.  All it takes is the time and care to get started.

I’d like to hear from you:

• Can you remember a time when you didn’t get recognized or receive credit for your work?  How did you feel? 
• Have there been times when you didn’t recognize or give credit to someone for their work?  How did you feel?  
• Does your organization have a culture of recognition? 

Until next week…

Craig

This entry was posted on Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 9:51 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.