Let’s face it, as a modern leader you have enough on your plate. The scope of your role has continued to expand –  strategist, coach, influencer, direction setter and role model; surely the role of recognition giver can be handled by someone else? 

How about a bit of good old fashioned delegation!?

Besides, how do you know what’s really going on at every level in the organisation? Surely you can’t be expected to have visibility across every customer interaction, each supplier negotiation, or the myriad team member discussions, workflows and experiences on any given day?

Of course you can’t.  But there is someone who does.  There is someone who sees every over-and-above action, every small and caring gesture, the continued support, the warm smile, the great result; and that’s the person who actually experienced it!

And who better to celebrate that experience than the recipient herself?  Who better to tell those who weren’t there, then those that were?  And what better way to communicate the things that actually make the difference on a day to day basis – in other words, feedback – than through providing timely, specific and personal recognition?

Digital Solutions to Employee Recognition

The great news is that, with the advent of the digital social age, both the mechanism and more importantly the behavior needed is so ubiquitous that all you need to do as a leader is switch it on and stand back.  (Well, that’s not entirely true, but it is close)

The thing we sometimes forget is that recognition and feedback is not something new and it’s not something we need to necessarily introduce to the organisation.  Instead, what you need to do is facilitate the free and open ability to provide and receive it.  Sure, it certainly helps if leaders role model the behaviour, but the lion’s share of the work will happen organically, naturally and between the people who matter when it comes to evolving company culture – everyone.

And here’s the best bit; as a leader you will start to see things in your organisation that you would otherwise seldom ever see!  The multitude of projects being worked on, the breakthroughs, the challenges, the facilitators, the inspirers and the 1 percenters.  And you won’t be the only one.  With modern, instant, peer recognition, everyone can see the great things that are happening in their organisation.  They can see the things that get appreciated and recognised, therefore the things that matter, and can both celebrate that in others and feel valued when others see those things in them.

So as a leader, you are off the hook.

Except of course that the decision to unleash this benefit will most likely be yours and every now and then, being the human you are, you may need to appreciate the people that ease your burden and make your life a little brighter. Perhaps, if you play your cards right, others may even reinforce the difference you make in theirs. After all, isn’t this the sort of feedback that amplifies the behaviours that build truly great cultures?

Corporate Edge has been helping leaders align their organisational culture to achieve extraordinary results for many years.  We are also the very proud partners of the engagement and recognition platform Teamphoria.  Peer to peer recognition that enables people to inspire and celebrate people.  Please contact us to discuss if this is the right solution for your team.