What Are You Really Rewarding?

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀.

When I supervised sales teams in financial services, exceptional results always drew attention. Leadership wanted to recognize the people behind them and hoped others would follow their example. That’s a healthy instinct. Outstanding work deserves to be seen.

But recognition carries a second message. The person being celebrated hears “well done.” Everyone else hears “this is what success looks like here,” and they’ll try to repeat whatever they believe that person did.

So before celebrating an exceptional result publicly, I made a habit of understanding how it was achieved. I looked beyond the headline number to completion rates, cancellations, order reports, and recorded customer calls.

Occasionally, that review revealed discrepancies that needed additional attention or coaching. But more often than not, what I found was simply excellent work worth recognizing and sharing. Instead of praising a number, I could point to what the person actually did well, and others could learn from it.

Another supervisor once encouraged me to recognize a particularly strong performer right away. My response was essentially: “I want to recognize his success. But before I do, I want to understand what’s behind it—because whatever we celebrate is what others will try to repeat.”

Understanding how someone succeeded wasn’t about assuming something was wrong. It was about making sure what I celebrated was worth repeating. It built trust, too. Teams trust leaders whose praise reflects how the work was really done, and strong performers notice when a leader takes a genuine interest in how they work.

Recognition that names only the result leaves people guessing. Recognition that names the behavior shows them how to get there.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲?


#IntentionalYou #Leadership