Recognition isn’t about being nice. It’s a strategic leadership tool that reinforces the behaviours you want repeated. Most managers use it too little, too late, or not at all.
When was the last time you told someone on your team — specifically — what they did well?
Not a generic “good job.” Not a passing nod. A specific, deliberate acknowledgement of something they did that mattered.
If you can’t remember, that’s the problem.
Recognition is one of the most powerful tools a manager has — and it costs nothing. No budget approval. No system. No programme. Just attention and words. Yet most managers default to correction. They notice what’s wrong and miss what’s right. Over time, this creates teams that do the minimum, because the maximum never gets noticed.
Why Correction Without Recognition Fails
Think of every interaction you have with your team as a transaction. Correction is a withdrawal. Recognition is a deposit. If you’re only ever withdrawing, the account goes negative — and people disengage.
This isn’t soft leadership. It’s practical. When someone does something well and nobody notices, there’s no reason for them to do it again. The behaviour isn’t reinforced. It fades. Then you wonder why standards slipped.
Meanwhile, the person who’s been doing solid, consistent work for months without a word of acknowledgement starts asking themselves: “Why bother?”
That question is the beginning of every motivation problem you’ll ever face.
What Effective Recognition Actually Looks Like
Words That Actually Work
What This Looks Like in Practice
I had a team member who’d been solid for months — never late, always reliable, never complained. I’d been so focused on the people causing problems that I’d completely overlooked the ones holding things together.
One morning I stopped and said something specific about what I’d noticed. Nothing dramatic. Just honest. The change in their energy was immediate. They weren’t looking for a medal — they just needed to know someone was paying attention.
One Thing to Do Right Now
Put the 5R to Work
The 5R Leadership Toolkit includes recognition trackers, conversation scripts, and the one-page framework reference.
Get the 5R Toolkit — £12
