Recognition

Last week, I was listening to a podcast during my daily walk about conscious leadership and how it builds value for an organization. One of the areas of leadership that was discussed was the recognition of others and how important it is in building a successful business. They made the case that recognizing and inspiring is imperative.

I started thinking about my career and whether I did a good job of recognizing the people that worked with me or for me. As I looked back, I realized that in early years of my career I didn’t fully learn and appreciate the value of recognition. I didn’t realize that people deserved recognition for the work they do. I didn’t realize how much of my success was the result of their hard work.

I feel along the way I may have displeased some people and did not truly display the characteristics of a good leader. I always thought people can accomplish more so I was never happy with what they were producing. I was pushing too hard and not recognizing people for their hard work and the commitment to the ultimate goal. I am grateful that eventually I learned this big lesson and made it a priority in my career.

True leadership – the ability to inspire others to greatness – is one of the most challenging skills to master. Leadership refers to an individual's ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Without it, people feel uninspired, bored and lose connection with the cause. As leaders, we do such a good job of finding people doing things wrong and try to fix them. We don’t spend enough time finding them doing things right and recognize them.

As I have shared with you before, I like to take these business lessons and apply it to everyday life. Shouldn’t recognizing and inspiring people be important in all levels of our lives? Don’t we get better results when we recognize the people around us? Let’s not take the important people around us for granted.

Our spouses, our kids, our friends, our co-workers, and people in our societies can benefit from recognition. They all will respond better to our goals and objectives if they see they are valued for what they do.

When I got home after my walk, I found my wife taking care of my laundry and organizing the house the way I like it. I waited and found a special moment later to genuinely thank her for everything she does around the house for me. I had taken these and other chores for granted. I recognized her for it and made sure she knew I truly appreciated it. It was just a simple thank you but when it’s done genuinely, it makes all the difference.

So look around you and make sure the people that are working with you, working for you or are part of your life are being recognized and appreciated.