Leadership and Employee Recognition

Letters on Leadership

If Employee Recognition Isn't Real,
You're in Real Trouble

Dear Friend,

He loved his people. He especially loved salespeople and he showered them with attention. When Buck Rodgers ran marketing at IBM, the company was generally acknowledged as the world's best sales and marketing organization.

Much of this success was built on employee recognition. But IBM's leaders didn't think about recognition as something to hang on the wall. Employee recognition was a behavior that touched every layer of the company.

Some companies simply tolerate salespeople. These employees are not very well understood and as a result, their performance is average at best.

But as Buck Rodgers reveals, recognizing the contributions, the talents and the challenges of salespeople is a vital strand of leadership DNA:

I wear my admiration for creative salespeople like a badge for all to see. Every company, starting with its highest management, should make it known to every one of its employees that the salesperson is a VIP. That is how he or she is treated at IBM. It's not unusual for a small group of the top salespeople to be invited to the home office for informal meetings, a private lunch or dinner meeting with top management, and a friendly chat with the chairman of the board.

Employees understand when recognition is genuine. An employee's ability to detect disingenuous behavior is typically pretty good. Leaders who set out to "build morale" better do their building on a foundation of understanding, candor, and skill.

What should employees be recognized for? Anything that meaningfully contributes to the company's objectives. And the salesperson who sells the most isn't necessarily the salesperson who warrants the recognition.

Numbers only tell part of the story. Leaders who pay close attention sometimes see a top billing salesperson who has been dealt a good hand and has played it decently. They may, at the same time, see another salesperson dealt a lousy hand who is creating magic.

Employee recognition is often associated with a raise or a bonus. Money is not always the best way to recognize an employee's performance. But as Lee Iacocca points out, giving somebody a raise should be about more than money:

When you give a guy a raise, that's the time to increase his responsibilities. While he's in a good frame of mind, you reward him for what he's done, and at the same time, you motivate him to do even more. Always hit him with more while he's up, and never be too hard on him when he's down.

Employee recognition naturally takes some work, some paying attention, some understanding of human nature. The kind of recognition that will be appreciated by one person will be uncomfortable for another. One of the ingredients of leadership involves an understanding of how people in the organization like to be personally be rewarded and recognized.

Thanks for your time. I hope this has been helpful.

Cordially,

Paul Talbot

PS Buck Rodgers is a big believer in simplicity... he breaks down the elements of leadership into three pieces;

There are countless ways of attaining greatness. But any road to reaching one's maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity.

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As David Mahoney put it, Be a friend when people most need one. As movie mogul Lew Wasserman used to advise talent agents: "If an actor is working, make sure you talk to him at least twice a week. If he is not working, talk to him every day." Helping people will not guarantee that they respond in kind. My experience is that you can count on about one in ten, but this one makes up for the others.