Loud Thinking April 09, 2014 at 01:20PM
Get Specific When Giving Credit
Most of us have witnessed moments when credit was given unfairly – a supervisor unabashedly claims credit for his invisible staff’s work, or a quiet performer is inadequately recognized for her contribution. This damages organizational culture and deflates employee motivation. (Why expend the effort if no one will recognize it?) If you regularly award credit to deserving individuals, people will see that the system is fair, and this will drive performance.
Recognize those who recognize others. Thanking team members who highlight others’ efforts shows that you value generous and honest attribution of credit.
Elevate the quiet heroes. Quiet contributors are seldom concerned with taking credit, but making an effort to reward them will create a sense of integrity in your organization.
Remember there’s plenty of credit to go around. There are no limits to how many individuals can be recognized for contributing to an outcome, but recognition loses meaning when everyone (even slackers) gets it. Specific attributions of credit always trump blanket statements of praise.
Adapted by HBR from “ The Importance of Giving Credit” by Sachin H. Jain.
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