When we embrace FROG – Forever Recognize Others’ Greatness – some “juicy” questions arise. Let me share a few of them, and hopefully you will see, recognition is not another task on your already long ‘to do’ list, but a way of being.

1. How can I recognize people when I have no budget?

Many leaders struggle to find ways to recognize people on limited budgets, and always dipping in to their own pocket can start to add up. In previous posts I’ve listed almost a hundred different ways to recognize people. Most of them are free. Giving of a minute of two of your time – through private words of praise or a thank-you note – is often considered more valuable than a nominal gift of recognition.

2. How can I fairly recognize people?

Sometimes people worry about being perceived as playing favourites. Remember, if your intention is solid, you’re on the right track. You can’t control how people perceive a gesture, but you can control the motivation behind it. If you endeavour to “catch people in greatness,” you’ll end up recognizing a range of people because you’ll notice the variety of greatness all around you.

We think it’s also important to keep in mind that recognition is everyone’s job, not just the leader’s. Professionals should be self-aware and self-reflective enough to recognize when they are surpassing their skills and abilities and should acknowledge the greatness of their peers. In other words, the role of the leader is to foster a recognition culture. If it’s not just down to you, then recognition becomes more sustainable and self-reinforcing. It becomes less about who and how you recognize people and more about how you enable people to honour their own greatness and that of their peers.

Trust the team will be able to catch those moments of greatness. After all, they’re with one another way more hours than you as a leader are. Wouldn’t it be cool if it became your job to acknowledge the recognition happening among team members? The question of fairness would begin to disappear if people felt they were being recognized by their peers and that you valued this.

3. How do I recognize people who are not performing well?

Everyone does something that is their form of greatness. We’re not saying it’s always obvious or even easy to find, but often it is tied to something the individual values most. As soon as you begin noticing what the person is doing right vs. pointing out what is wrong, he or she will be more motivated to do things that fit expectations. Sometimes we need to look deep to find something we respect and value in the other person. This will help in establishing trust. Once trust is built, it’s much easier to ask people what they feel they excel at and what they would like to improve.

4. Why do I need to recognize people – isn’t getting a pay cheque enough?

As we discussed right at the beginning of this book, people vote with their feet when they don’t feel valued, and in the talent shortage of today, we just can’t afford for that to happen. Like it or not, a bigger motivator for people than money is recognition. Why? People are human beings, and it’s the humanity of recognition that connects them to one another and their organization. More and more, people want to belong to something. Work can feel like a community or a jail sentence (or something in between). In which scenario are you likely get the best from people: when they feel they can contribute with purpose or when they show up out of obligation?

5. I don’t get recognized. Why should I recognize others?

The surest way to be recognized is to recognize the greatness in others. It’s pretty hard for us to be annoyed, angry, or apathetic with someone who sees our talents, passions, and virtues, expresses an appreciation for them, and finds ways to draw them out of us. How are you focused on self-recognition? If you’re grounded in your own greatness and have found ways to live it in meaningful ways, others’ recognition of you naturally becomes less important. It is ironic, isn’t it?

6. I’ve tried recognizing people and they don’t appreciate it. Why bother?

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was a team’s ecosystem destroyed in one. It takes seven years to build a culture, and every day we take small steps forward. Focus on the steps, on the small markers of progress along the way, and celebrate them. We suspect you’ll be better able to see the small examples of where recognition is happening rather than attending to all the evidence it is not present. While you’re at it, do a self-recognition check-in. Have you recognized yourself lately? Turn recognition inwards. You always have control over that!

7. I have only so much time in my day. How do I balance recognition along with all the other things I need to do?

In its simplest form, recognizing greatness happens in the moment. Come to work prepared to recognize greatness when you see it. I carry little squishy frogs, frog charms, and recognition cards in my purse. That way I can recognize someone in the moment as soon as I witness it. What is your easy and quick method?

Agreed, you don’t have time to plan a huge celebration every day or go shopping for the perfect gift. Good thing that’s not how employees most want to be recognized, isn’t it?

8. Is recognition just the leader’s job?

Glad you asked! While people say they most want to be recognized by their direct supervisor, the strongest cultures I have witnessed are those where everyone sees it as their role to recognize greatness – in clients, colleagues, subordinates, superiors – in creative and personal ways every day. How would you feel most energized at the end of the day, if your boss shared specifically how she thought you did a good job or a client, colleague, or work friend shared how much they valued your greatness? Maybe you would say both (we don’t blame you).

9. Should I recognize people when it’s not valued in my organization?

Haven’t some of the most powerful and transformational changes happened in this world at a grassroots level? Why not start where you have control – with those you work with, interact with, and care about – and see where it takes you? Recognition feeds souls, yours included. And anyway, if you face backlash for recognizing greatness, do you really want to work there? Living your greatness is how you will live with purpose and passion. Don’t give your power over to any force willing to stifle it. Be yourself. Be great.

I have a friend Brenda Zalter-Minden who makes it her mission in life to be her best self every day. I’m not saying she’s perfect. I’m saying she tries to consistently work from her gifts and to see the strengths in others. As a result, she is quick to acknowledge and recognize greatness in the world and others around her.

She has this cool motto: Forever Recognize Others’ Greatness (FROG)^TM.

When we worked together, anyone who entered her office was reminded of her motto; she has stuffed frogs, ceramic frogs, frog pictures, and even little squishy frogs (that you could take with you if you wanted). She created a space where greatness would be acknowledged and celebrated. She made such an impact by spreading and living the FROG^TM motto that even though she has retired now, people still talk about the meaning of FROG^TM and have frogs of their own in their workspace, reminding them of the importance of recognizing others’ greatness.

The FROG^TM motto has stuck with me too. Like Brenda, I love the idea that recognizing greatness is part of everyone’s everyday experience.

Recognition makes us feel so good and it’s accessible to us any one of us. Everyone can do it. It doesn’t have to cost a penny. It’s not dependent on “title” or role. It makes the world a better place. It can come from within as well as others. And no matter how young or old we are, we crave it.

Recognition doesn’t have to be grand. There are small gestures – a smile, a thank-you, a compliment, a note, an acknowledgement – and there are larger gestures – a gift, a celebration, a public display of achievement. It can be part of our everyday experience, and it can become part of our norms and traditions. It can happen between individuals, within groups, across groups, within organizations, throughout communities and between nations. It’s all around us, if we chose to see it. And there could be more of it, if we choose to attend to it.

Reflection:

1. What greatness have you displayed today?
2. How have you recognized your own greatness?
3. What greatness have you noticed around you?
4. How have you acknowledged it?