Well, they showed me! Or I could say, they confirmed the wisdom of practitioners.
I may know something about staff recognition—enough to write a couple of books—but it’s the leaders on the front line who are the experts. They are the staff recognition practitioners. We can learn from them. They can learn from each other.
That is the premise of staff recognition mastermind groups, which I included in Thanks, Again! as a way to gather staff recognition tips, tools and techniques to fill your staff recognition tool kit.
Establish a staff recognition mastermind group by bringing together other managers and supervisors who share your commitment to recognizing staff, so you can learn from each other.
Members could be people from within your organization or leaders from outside. Meet regularly to discuss staff recognition. What are they doing? Is it working? What didn’t work? What useful staff recognition resources have they discovered recently? Establish accountability by committing to what you will do to enhance staff recognition over the next few weeks. Report your progress the next time the group meets.
On June 11, I hosted the inaugural online GREAT Staff Recognition Mastermind with five participants who came from a variety of backgrounds.
The result was a lively exchange of staff recognition practices. Participants asked each other questions about staff recognition and described what they have done to recognize staff. And everyone took notes. Lots of notes!
Despite their different backgrounds (education, small business, large corporation), everyone shared a common commitment to creating workplaces where people feel they belong and where they are valued as individuals and appreciated for how they contribute.
After an hour, I asked if joining the mastermind discussion was worthwhile and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Participants expressed interest in attending a future mastermind session, which we agreed would occur early in the fall.
“Thank you so much for an excellent mastermind group yesterday! I’m inspired to start planning our monthly recognition events for next year!” an educator wrote. “Looking forward to connecting again in the fall!”
The small business owner wrote: “Thanks for the mastermind opportunity yesterday. I really enjoyed the group and all the ideas shared.”
Another participant said, “Thank you for hosting the session this afternoon. I got some great ideas that I am going to try in the fall with the teachers in my department and even some stuff for the staff room like the Oreo cookie challenge that I am going to try before the end of the year.”
Watch Briefly Noted for the date for the next GREAT Staff Recognition Mastermind meeting, tentatively scheduled for September. Join leaders who share your commitment to staff recognition to contribute what you are doing and learn how others express appreciation. You are guaranteed to leave with staff recognition tips, tools and techniques to add to your staff recognition tool kit.
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Can’t wait until September to add to your staff recognition tool kit? Maybe it’s time to buy a copy of Thanks, Again! More Simple, Inexpensive Ways for Busy Leaders to Recognize Staff. Both print and e-book versions are available. While most independent bookstores may not have the book in stock, they would be happy to order it for you.
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