The Importance of Reward & Recognition

14/2/2021

How many times do we say “thank you” for the little things in life that could actually be the big things in someone’s life?
Reward & Recognition are one of the motivators that I explore with clients when they come to work with me. I ask questions to explore how they are going to celebrate their achievements when they have reached their goal or milestones along the way.

Starting with the end in mind, what do you want to achieve and why?
How will you know when this has been achieved?
What will see, feel and hear?
How will you celebrate success?

You will be amazed that so many of my clients haven’t even thought about the reward to themselves, let alone others if the goal is a team goal. By getting them to visualise their success helps them tap into their motivators which will spur them into action.
I recently received some coaching in my supervision group on a goal that I had been struggling to achieve because I was making it too big in my head that I had lost focus and disconnected with WHY I wanted to achieve the goal I had previously committed to.
The coach asked me open and probing questions, respectfully listening to my answers and reflecting back what she was hearing, seeing and feeling. By having an outsider ask the questions that you wouldn’t normally ask yourself and raising your awareness to potential blind spots, I was able to refocus, connect with my WHYand make an action plan that fit the SMART principles of goal setting.

Specific – I knew all the steps I needed to take to achieve the goal.
Measurable – There was a form I was completing along the way so I could see the progress I was making.
Achievable – Nothing would get in my way other than my negative self talk or lack of prioritisation and commitment
Realistic/Relevant – If I didn’t do what I committed to do then I was wasting money and I was potentially impacting the growth of my business.
Timescale – I committed to a realistic timescale realising that the tasks were not that big and therefore the date was a stretch to put some pressure on me to achieve.

I am a visual and kinaesthetic learner, something which I check with all of my clients that I work with so by knowing this, the coach was able to tap into this knowledge and explore

What would I need to look at daily to keep focused?
What would I need to feel daily to keep focused?

I decided to draw a picture of my reward to myself when the goal was achieved and coloured it in as I achieved milestones along the way. This simple, yet effective solution was all that was needed to keep me focused. I cannot wait to enjoy my reward this afternoon.

Do you want to know what my reward is?

Valentines afternoon tea with a bottle of champagne shared with my husband whilst the boys are on a sleepover at Nana’s.
My family are the driving force in all I do so there was a reward for all of us and the quality time that we spend with our loved ones is the time that we will never get back. Making memories is important so I’ll be using this approach again!
Next big milestone is 28th February 2021 when I’ll be enjoying an Indian takeaway with the family from our favourite restaurant.

What would your reward & recognition to you and/or your team be?

Remember a simple thank you goes a long way to let someone know you appreciate them and their efforts.

Author

Claire Cahill is a Confidence and Leadership Coach specialising in Employee Engagement which gave her the material to write her books