Full Capacity

My colleague, Max Brown, and I had the delight of interviewing Jim Kouzes, co-author of The Leadership Challenge today for our Real Recognition Radio show.

As I came away from this insightful sharing from Jim on the simplicity and awesome power and responsibility of leadership as a driving force for “encouraging the heart” I realized many leaders are not operating on full “leadership” capacity.

Jim reminds all of us that the job of a leader is to improve performance, not to diminish or leave performance where it currently is. If those in leadership position cannot fulfill the role of being able to encourage and help people do more and be more they should get out of leadership.

Leaders must daily fill up their leadership gas tanks to be on full when they reach the company and interact with their people.

Jim told us leaders must develop their capacity to encourage the hearts of others. They must turn introspectively on their own lives and reflect and recall the emotional connection of their own meaningful recognition experience. By tapping into this emotional well of human reality they will find the meaning and reason for acknowledging the worth and contributions of those around them.

Never drive to work on empty.

RMI hits the airwaves

Beginning on February 23rd, I will be co-hosting along with S. Max Brown, RMI’s VP of Organizational Learning, Voice of America’s newest weekly radio show: Real Recognition Radio.

Real Recognition Radio is going to go back to what recognition is really all about. We’re going to help make better people and create more positive relationships. We’ll look at what’s new and exciting in the field of employee rewards, recognition and incentives. We’ll also talk to people who have lived successes and failures to help us learn what works and what doesn’t.

The show’s first installment will be featuring Brenna Garratt as our first guest. Brenna Garratt is a member of Rideau Recognition Solutions’ board of directors and CEO of The Delve Group, Inc. Brenna has been instrumental in working with Senior Executives to reshape and reposition existing brands, as well as invent, position and promote new ones so they are correctly understood internally and externally in their respective marketplaces.

Having been active in both the recognition field and marketing, Brenna’ll be discussing the importance of marketing and communication within your recognition program so your program touches your employees and achieves the goals you intended it to.

Real Recognition Radio will show you how to get real results in the workplace through meaningful recognition solutions.

The show premiers February 23rd, and will air every Tuesday at 1 PM ET on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel. Click here for more info!

Stop Recognition Leaks

Recently, a company operational manager told me their survey results and performance management systems revealed managers were doing very well with recognition giving.

Unfortunately, employees did not share the same perception. Numbers from employee survey results did not mesh with their managers.

He commented how they needed to stop this “leak”.

That word “leak” really hit me.

Consider, consultants typically use the word “gap”, depicting a break or opening between one surface and another, to mean the problem between a current and desired state. The visual connotation is to simply “bridge” the gap. Not too serious – the gap is readily apparent. You just need some engineer corps to come in and figuratively drop a bridge across.

But what about this fellow’s recognition leak?

Most definitions for a “leak” imply a hole, crack, or some means for a liquid, gas or light to escape through. In most references it is referred to as being “unintended” – or accidental, unplanned, and unwanted.

A gap can be bridged or jumped. A leak can sink a ship. It can also sink productivity, morale, profits, even a company.

Leaks must be found right away. They must be stopped – sealed up, prevented, no more accidents. Disengaged people, lack of commitment, poor morale, absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover, reduced outputs – all escaped energy from people. All unintended but allowed.

Let’s do whatever it takes to seek, find and stop recognition leaks.

Action:

* Ask employees and leaders/ managers in separate, respective groups for candid explanation for why and where the recognition leaks exist within the organization.

* Bring the same groups back together in their separate groups, share the findings from the other group and brainstorm realistic and meaningful solutions.

* Reduce these suggestions to a minimal number (say 3 to 5) and apply them with individual and collective commitment along with a reporting back process every 90-days to senior leadership on results achieved.