Hmmm. I do think recognition is important and I'm surprised how good it feels when genuine positive feedback is offered. The issue you raise though is, how I would feel if I made a good contribution to a given project, but it appears others are getting recognized for the same sort of contributions to the same project, I'd honestly feel a little left out. I don't expect it would affect how I do my job on future projects though. :) So how much it matters? I'd say it's not a requirement but appreciated when it occurs.
I'm not saying that recognition isn't important...I think that it's extremely important for people to get recognized, not only in a work setting, but also in sports, relationships, etc. The better companies in this world are those that really know how to motivate their employees and reward them, and recognition is one of the major things.
I find the challenge for any manager is to be engaged with those that report to him/her and be able to be honest about the goods and the not so goods. :)
I try to lead my life expecting no recognition while giving as much as I can. I figure if everyone lived like that, it would be a better place.
Do I always make it? Not really.
The one situation in which I do feel recognition is owed to me and I make sure I get it is in the workplace. The success of my career is partly based on recognition of the work I do. I can do the best job of anyone on my team, but if Joe gets the recognition, he's going to get the promotion and I'm not.
I try to balance this with being very generous with my recognition of my coworkers, but I do have to protect my own interests.
I don't know if you watched the World Junior Hockey Tournament this year, but it was one of the triggers for this post. There was a player on Canada (Canucks draft pick) who lead the tournament in scoring, played the penalty kill, was probably the best all-around player on the team but wasn't a the super flashy, goal-scorer so he ended up not winning any individual awards, but his team won the Gold Medal. Should that really matter? A lot of people watching thought that he probably was one of the top players, but he doesn't have any formal recognition for it.
You need to read "Why Pride Matters More Than Money".
You definitely need to be praised for a job well done, especially if they want you to do that job over and over again. Want to see the end result of a not praising? Look at some of the negative comments over how Air Canada dealt with the winter storms, versus how WestJet is praised. It's all about how your people feel about being there and being supported and valued.
Here's a question though, and more so of what my post was really intended to ask: If you had a choice, would you rather "win" and get the great results but get snubbed in terms of recognition? Or would you rather not do well in your project/competition/etc but get recognized for the work you put in even though you didn't get the results that you wanted?
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Do I always make it? Not really.
The one situation in which I do feel recognition is owed to me and I make sure I get it is in the workplace. The success of my career is partly based on recognition of the work I do. I can do the best job of anyone on my team, but if Joe gets the recognition, he's going to get the promotion and I'm not.
I try to balance this with being very generous with my recognition of my coworkers, but I do have to protect my own interests.
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You definitely need to be praised for a job well done, especially if they want you to do that job over and over again. Want to see the end result of a not praising? Look at some of the negative comments over how Air Canada dealt with the winter storms, versus how WestJet is praised. It's all about how your people feel about being there and being supported and valued.
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Here's a question though, and more so of what my post was really intended to ask: If you had a choice, would you rather "win" and get the great results but get snubbed in terms of recognition? Or would you rather not do well in your project/competition/etc but get recognized for the work you put in even though you didn't get the results that you wanted?
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