What’s the most effective way to recognize people for their hard work?
Most people say something like, “Praise! Accolades! Celebration for a job well done!”
Do you agree? Until last week, I certainly would’ve.
But last Monday, I asked my friend Eric Owski, CEO of Treehouse, about his thoughts on leadership. He told me a story that shifted how I think about employee recognition.
Let me share it with you.
Exceptional Recognition:
A LinkedIn Story
Before founding Treehouse—a company whose EV chargers are making homes more comfortable, healthy, and sustainable—Eric was Senior Director of Product Marketing at LinkedIn. And at one point in last week’s conversation, he hinted that he had a story to tell about his LinkedIn days.
Eric isn’t one to brag, so I had to work to pull it out of him. After some cajoling, this is the tale he told.
Soon after he began leading product marketing at LinkedIn, Eric’s teams (about sixty people all tolled) took an employee engagement survey. Results showed that the people he led felt exceptionally recognized for the work they did. Much more so, in fact, than before he’d stepped into his new role. And much more so than his peers’ teams—by quite a wide margin.
And it wasn’t a fluke. Quarter after quarter, Eric’s team’s recognition scores were sky-high, especially when compared to other employee groups at LinkedIn.
Eric’s peers wondered and debated. They all assumed he and his leaders must be praising and celebrating his employees nonstop.
But they were wrong. Eric did, of course, praise his teams and celebrate wins. But he did so no more than his peers did with their own teams.
What was he doing differently?
“I Know What You’re Doing,
and I Know Why It’s Hard.”
When I asked Eric what he did that made his teams at LinkedIn feel so deeply recognized, this is what he said:
What Are You Going Through?
The philosopher Simone Weil believed the greatest gift we can give someone is to ask, “What are you going through?” And then, to simply pay attention. Most people who are facing any kind of challenge—work-related or not—feel a deep need to be seen. To know someone realizes, someone gets it.
When Eric made the effort to understand everyone’s unique “boulder,” he was meeting that deep human need for empathic awareness. In so doing, he was helping create a culture where people felt noticed, known, and appreciated. That’s what kept his teams motivated. That’s what fueled their boulder-pushing.
Praise is critical, of course. Eric would agree. But praise isn’t sufficient. Never underestimate the power of understanding what exactly your team is working on, and why exactly it’s hard.
Empathy, not praise, is the real foundation of recognition.
