Editor's Note: In response to a recent comment on the "The Power of Acknowledgement," by Judy Umlas, commenter Lina asked, "Would you mind explaining or giving the steps to start implementing the acknowledgment culture in a team?" The following is Judy's response.

Lina, I think you have asked a very important and worthwhile question.

Here are some steps you can take to establish or enhance a culture of acknowledgment (and appreciation) on a team:

1. If you're a project leader for a new team, all the better. At your project kickoff meeting, announce that you have heard about the value of acknowledging team members for their accomplishments, and for who they are and what they bring to the team.
 
Be clear that people should only acknowledge team members that they truly feel deserve it. Otherwise, the acknowledgment will fall flat and be considered insincere. If the project is already underway, set up some specific time to discuss this at one of your regular project meetings.
 
2. Make the statement that everyone has a unique talent or gift that they bring to the team. Stress that they are all tasked with finding these gifts and talents.
 
3. In my book, The Power of Acknowledgment, I discuss 7 principles of acknowledgment, which can be summarized as follows:

• The world is full of people who deserve to be acknowledged.
• Acknowledgment builds intimacy and creates powerful interactions.
• Acknowledgment neutralizes, defuses, deactivates and reduces the effect of jealousy and envy.
• Recognizing good work leads to high energy, great feelings, high-quality performance and terrific results. Not acknowledging causes the opposite.
• Truthful, heartfelt and deserved acknowledgment always makes a difference in a person's life and work.
• Acknowledgment can likely improve the emotional and physical health of both the giver and the receiver.
• Practice different ways of getting through to the people you want to acknowledge.

Ask people how these principles "show up" for them. Do they recognize that being acknowledged is an innate human need? Without it, people cannot survive, let alone thrive.

4. Share with them Stephen R. Covey's quote from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: "Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is ... to be affirmed, to be validated, to be appreciated."

Keep the conversation about acknowledgment going throughout the life of the project. Then, do a wildly successful job as a team. The culture of acknowledgment and appreciation will allow that to happen.
 
How do you create a culture of acknowledgment within your project teams?

Normally, I encourage and promote the use of heartfelt and spontaneous acknowledgments. Now I want to talk about the possibility of instituting and practicing a more formal process of recognition simultaneously.

I recently held a webinar with about 60 project managers from Finland. I had been told before the webinar that they didn't believe acknowledgement even existed in their culture. Shortly after this webinar, though, I received an enthusiastic e-mail from Dean Pattrick, PMP, telling me about an internal program introduced at Nokia in Finland. It's called the Peer-to-Peer Recognition Award.

Below is a copy of the certificate he and the company's human resources department put together to recognize achievement in one of the company's four core values, Achieving Together.

"So I filled in this certificate for eight people and the response I got from each of them was jaw-dropping," Mr. Pattrick wrote.

Remember, acknowledgment supposedly doesn't even exist in Mr. Pattrick's culture. Yet people were thrilled and delighted with the recognition certificates and the heartfelt comments.

He achieved these results because acknowledgment is a human need, especially at work.

Many companies are starting to institute formal practices like Nokia's and I wholeheartedly applaud them. I also acknowledge Mr. Pattrick for putting this practice into action.

Does your organization have a formal process for recognizing its employees? If so, please share it with us and let us know how you think it is working.

Photo copyright of Nokia and was published with permission.

One of the attendees at the Fifth PMI National Congress held recently in Brazil said something that really resonated with me: "I want people on my team who truly believe in the project." That statement is so simple and yet so elegant. It made me think of the project that my company is working on now: International Project Management Day 2010.

A senior consultant at IIL, Frank P. Saladis, PMP, created the idea for this day of recognition and acknowledgment of project managers worldwide.

Now in its seventh year, the event brings together project management thought-leaders in a virtual conference accessible to anyone and everyone around the world.

Gregory Balestrero, president and CEO of PMI, and Harold Kerzner, PhD, will each deliver a keynote address. The event launches on 4 November, and attendees can earn up to 11 free professional development units (PDUs) for participating. There will also be a virtual recognition booth where you can name people you think are great project managers.

This project is a joy, but often a challenge, for all of us to pull together and make it happen. We do it to help realize the goal and intention of the special day: to make sure that all of you are being celebrated. It's certainly a project that every one of us truly believes in and is proud to be a part of.

Head over now -- it's not too late for you to join in the celebration. If you can't make it, the content will be up for three months and you can still earn those precious (and price-less) PDUs.

I spent a good part of a recent weekend doing a final edit of an upcoming project management book. Ironically, one chapter referenced a 2004 Fast Company article called "Balance is Bunk!" ('Bunk' being a slang term that basically means 'absurd.')

There I was, giving up my well-earned leisure time on a beautiful fall day, but wanting and needing to get the job done. So I went to the article, which states:

"The truth is, balance is bunk. ... The quest for balance between work and life, as we've come to think of it, isn't just a losing proposition; it's a hurtful, destructive one."

Now we're really getting to the core of the dilemma, I thought to myself. The author then quotes John Wood, who at the time the article was written, had been working seven days a week, 365 days a year. In regard to the elusive, so-called state of "balance," Mr. Wood said:
 
"I don't look at balance as an ideal. What I look at is, Am I happy? If the answer is yes, then everything else is inconsequential."
 
That made a lot of sense, I thought. I love and am passionate about what I do. I want to get this book published and out the door -- but what's on the other side of this supposedly unachievable quest for balance?
 
Rodney Turner, PhD, recently made a presentation entitled  "Work-Life Balance in Project-Oriented Organizations." A preview states:
 
"Companies should treat their employees with respect and allow them to have a work-life balance. It is good for their physical and psychological health and therefore good for social sustainability. ... The need for profit and responding to client demands often takes precedence over employee wellbeing."
 
Hmmm.

So is work-life balance bunk? I think the answer is both yes and no.
 
Sometimes when a project grabs us or is imposed on us, we have to say, "I surrender" -- either out of passion, guilt or intense pressure. I chose to give the book I was editing my all -- even when a "balanced" work-life scenario would have had me walking in the woods on that beautiful day. But I know it was worth it, and I know other beautiful days will come. I need to make sure I take advantage of them -- at least once in a while.

What do you think about the work-life balance challenge?

Apart from the challenge of letting go of my 18-year-old "baby," I was thrilled and proud to bring my son to the Rochester Institute of Technology, a university in Rochester, New York, USA last week. At orientation for first year students, James Miller, PhD, senior vice president for career services, invited the 2,650 new students gathered there to create an education and a life that included three critical elements: balance, passion and making a difference.

What better message could there be for these young people, and for the rest of us as well?

Ultimately, project managers are committed to making a difference. It doesn't matter whether the project is solving a problem or filling a need, building a bridge, or creating new software that will do a job better, faster and easier. The goal of project management is always to make things work and work well. And that makes a difference -- in people's lives, communities, schools and environment.

Passion is another element that we love to see in our profession. Who among us wouldn't prefer to work on a team with people who won't stop until things get done and get done right? These are the people who are profoundly connected to, and engaged in, the outcome of the project. They keep the big picture in mind, too, and know that what they do is valued, important and worthwhile.

And then there's balance, the ultimate key to self-actualization and satisfaction in life and in work. Giving back -- when many of us have so much -- is a key part of a balanced existence. I love the way more and more organizations in the United States are excusing their people from work to do community service. I'm also inspired by the way many project managers serve as mentors to those entering the profession or in the process of earning a Project Management Professional (PMP^®) credential.

Balance, passion and making a difference. These three elements can and should be a project manager's call to action. What we wake up for, what we see as our purpose in life, and what we keep in front of us as a guidepost will continually challenge and inspire us -- as well as those around us. I hope my son will learn this as his first academic lesson. And may it last a lifetime.

Senior managers rank among the most under-acknowledged people in the workplace.

Part of it comes down to harried, stressed out, schedule-conscious project managers not being overly concerned with delivering the praise that does pop up in their brains from time to time. And we also wonder if that praise will be taken the wrong way. Will managers think we're just trying to get on their good side?

But once they're encouraged to acknowledge upward, people can't seem to wait to take action. In one virtual course I led, a project manager texted "I'll be right back. I have to go acknowledge my boss!"

Ten minutes later he was back. "I did it!!!" he texted, and you could feel his pride. We all felt proud of him, too, and shared his three-exclamation-mark excitement.

I was pleased to hear a similar story in a different course:
 
Some time ago, I had told my boss privately, but I had not told anyone publicly (so as not to embarrass him too much) that he was my hero -- that he had saved me from an almost intolerable situation and allowed me to retain my dignity. I'd always felt that he acknowledged me, but was especially honored as a result of the appointment to my current position.

"What he hasn't known, but will now," I told our class, with my boss sitting right there, "is that because of this, I say thank you to him every day that I've worked here, since November 2008, through my password, which is a combination of a 'thank you' to him and his name." - Jyll D. Townes, deputy commissioner for regional affairs, New York State Division of Human Rights
 
When Jyll told this story, her boss -- and everyone else in the room -- just lit up! It was so refreshing and wonderful to see. He was totally surprised and moved. She took the risk of acknowledging upward in a public setting and reaped the reward.

Don't hold back appreciation because of a person's position or influence. Sometimes those in the highest positions need our acknowledgment the most. Theirs can be a lonely and stressful path. Letting them know they made or make a difference in the workplace and in our lives will go a long way.
 
Feel free to post an acknowledgment of your manager as a comment to this blog! 

On page 229 of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)--Fourth Edition, under "Project Human Resource Management," I'm happy to see the following:

"Project managers should continually motivate their team by providing challenges and opportunities, by providing timely feedback and support as needed, and by recognizing and rewarding good performance."

I salute and encourage this. Yet I would advocate taking this statement one step further. Teamwork is based on validating all members for their contributions and making sure they feel valued.

Rewards and recognition let people feel special and know that what they do is appreciated. Acknowledgment, however, goes right to the heart. It lets people know that they make a difference, that the success of a project would not be as great without them.

A heartfelt and authentic acknowledgment can be spontaneous or it can be planned. Send an e-mail to a team member's manager about what a great job the person is doing -- and copy that person on the message. Or just look the person in the eye and tell them how much you value his or her continuous contribution.

If you feel moved when you do it and see the person light up as you communicate, you'll know you're on the right track. You don't need to order a plaque or buy a gift card when you're overcome with gratitude to have that person on your team. Just let them know -- from your heart, in a truthful way -- and the impact will be phenomenal. They won't be able to do enough to make the project a success!

So, in the PMBOK® Guide--Fifth Edition, I hope to see a reference to the power of acknowledgment. I will even help draft it, if invited!

Last June, I blogged about a presentation on acknowledgment that I gave to 800 project managers at a conference in Helsinki, Finland. Afterward, Agoston Nagy, a participant, shared with me a conversation he had with a senior project executive of an Indian power company.

Mr. Nagy's colleague asked the senior project executive what the most important competence of a project manager is.

"He answered: 'A project manager must have the courage to acknowledge when somebody does a good job,'" Mr. Nagy recalls.

We must consider that this executive was responsible for 16 simultaneous power plant construction projects and many other projects in his company. The team took in accolades: One project won an international award for excellence in 2005, two others were finalists in the same competition in 2006 and another project won in 2008.

I really appreciate how Mr. Nagy's example illustrated the need for courage when acknowledging a co-worker.

Why courage? Isn't it a simple thing to let someone know how much you appreciate them, how their being part of your team makes you certain you will complete the project successfully?

No, it isn't. Acknowledging others in a heartfelt and truthful way makes us feel at least somewhat vulnerable. We are not certain that they will accept the acknowledgment in the right way: What if they think we are trying to manipulate them? What if they think we are not being sincere?

That's why we need to be courageous and take the risk -- at all times. It is worth it, no matter how vulnerable it makes us feel!

I love it when my associate Sonia tells me in her direct, to-the-point way that she really doesn't like a course segment I put together. It's sometimes uncomfortable to hear, but I find criticism invaluable -- and worth acknowledging.

When I ask Sonia what she doesn't like about what I have put together for a program, for example, her reasons are solid, helpful and almost always merit making a change.

Who needs a "yes" person, when a person who tells you the truth, even if it is uncomfortable to hear, can really make a difference to the achieved results?

Ginger Levin, PhD, PMP, PgMP, drove this home in a note that she sent me a few weeks ago:
 
"Recently, I gave a program management boot camp. As it seems too often be the case, people in the class found some items that they felt needed change. I thought this was wonderful and I was so pleased that they had pointed them out to me. One person pointed out the majority of the changes, and I decided to send him a small present as a token of my appreciation. I also thanked each person who did so. One person in the class remarked that such thanks had not been given in previous courses she had attended. I welcomed the comments, as they can only help me improve next time."
 
Can you imagine being given a gift for the criticism you deliver to a colleague? I believe this is a rather rare response to such feedback -- too rare.

Wouldn't project excellence be much more commonplace and achievable if we all responded similarly? And it takes a master like Dr. Levin to truly value this kind of input to keep herself in a mode of continuous improvement.

So let's acknowledge those who tell us the truth -- and make us and what we do better! Their integrity, their commitment to excellence and their unwillingness to shortchange the end result by accepting the mediocre are their gifts to us! 

In the process of putting together a new course on Leadership and The Power of Acknowledgment, I've discovered some interesting information about employee engagement. A survey by The Gallup Organization over a 30 year period posed the following question to millions of employees: "Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?"

Isn't that an interesting question? Most of us might not even think of it as a measure of how engaged we are in our work. But if the truth be told, doesn't the slightest personal attention -- even a small inquiry about an ailing parent -- make you feel like you're more than just a worker to your manager?

I love the example cited by Stan Shimizu of Resourceful HR LLC in the podcast about reward and motivation that he and I recently did for PMI. Stan explained how the executive team at his former company made sure, in spite of the long hours everyone normally put it, that he left the office every day by 5 p.m. to tend to his wife who was having medical problems.

The executives even sent meals to his home. These actions meant more to Stan than monetary compensation could have and made him feel tremendously valued as a person. He states that these simple, kind acts increased his dedication and loyalty by 1000 percent!

Here's another wonderful example. Roberto Daniel, vice president of engineering at Invensys Controls South America, regularly spends one-on-one time with each of the people he manages.

During this hour, the person is not "allowed" to talk about work at all -- just about personal interests, family, hobbies and the like. His people look forward to it, as does Roberto. He considers it an essential tool for getting to know his people and what they are about, and he says it makes a huge difference in the productivity and engagement of the team. Since 2006, he has had over 200 of these face-to-face meetings.

Especially in this tough economy, we all have to work doubly hard to let our people know that they are valued and appreciated. Let's not let this simple pathway to productivity and well-being be overlooked!

Almost everyone knows the saying, "You are what you eat." But Michael E. Case, president and CEO of The Westervelt Co., a land resource organization, put a new twist on it by saying, "You are what you acknowledge."

In order to see something great in another, you have to have some experience with that quality or talent yourself. To admire and praise a team member's dedication and value as a human being to your team, you have to know on some level what it is to feel valued and to make a contribution to a team.

When project team members show they respect and appreciate fellow team members' commitment, integrity, openness, positive attitude, expertise, knowledge sharing and listening, that's what becomes the team's--and even the organization's--core values.

When these core values are brought to light, team members listen, they don't tolerate serving their customers poorly and they have a high sense of integrity. They become what they acknowledge.

Leaders must set the example in order to have others emulate it and make it positively "rampant" in an organization. And by the definition of former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Chase, William Harrison, Jr., everyone can do this. He dramatically stated, "Be a leader. We want everybody to be a leader...to be a leader you have to have a view, be willing to constructively express it, and use it to make something better. Under that definition, everybody can be a leader."

Everyone, then, not only can be, but IS a leader. Everyone, then, can demonstrate that ability to make something better. Team leaders who focus on and make it their honor and their duty to exemplify the power of acknowledgment achieve great results. Those of us who are acknowledged find it much easier to acknowledge others.

Acknowledgments truly transform both the giver and the receiver on a project team. They engender employee loyalty and engagement, improve relationships and enhance self-worth. These positive results are contagious, and the actions of each team member are amplified as the recipient picks up on this idea and spreads the circle wider. Like pebbles in a pond, the ripples radiate farther and farther out.

You are indeed what you acknowledge! Why wait to start practicing this--as a leader, do it now and reap the rewards! 

I always have plenty to say about acknowledgment, but in this post, I'm going to let you draw your own conclusions from portions of a letter I received from W. Pond, PMP. During my session on acknowledgment at the PMI® Global Congress 2009--North America, Mr. Pond says he found his mind turning to his first mentor, Tom:

"The two of us met in the hospital; patients with similar diagnoses. Tom would complete treatments two weeks prior to me. As a result he would prepare me for what to expect and the lessons he learned to make things more bearable for myself.

[We stayed connected during our recovery] and found ourselves taking  many walks together and when one or both of us was too tired we would sit [and talk in] front of the fire.

Tom later offered me a position with his [telecommunications company]. He [taught] me more about business, management, operations and ethics than any university. I have been in so much debt to him and my personal appreciation was given in a conversation where only a verbal thank you was provided.

During the session, as suggested, I drafted a letter of acknowledgment to my mentor:

Dear Tom:

Death comes to all of us faster than we all expect, as we both know. You and I have been through more than we would like.

I wanted to thank you for all that you have done for me. You sacrificed so much even in your time of need. You embraced and assisted me despite your own family and financial responsibilities.

I need you to know that all of my professional and personal successes can be attributed to your influence.

Memories of our walks and conversations by the fire about life and the meaning of being a man will always be treasured.

You were twice my age and my best friend.

Thank you for listening and providing comfort even in your own pain and anxiety. Thank you for hiring me and giving me the chance to find my own niche.

This has been so long in coming. I apologize for not sharing my utmost appreciation years ago.

Now, as I hold my wife, I recognize the things she loves in me were given to me by you. You have given so much of yourself without asking for anything in return. For these things, I wanted to thank you. For these reasons, I love you.

 It took a while to find Tom. We had a phone conversation discussing our lives since the hospital. I sent my letter acknowledging his role in my life. Since that time I have felt a closeness to Tom once again. Sending this out has provided me a clear conscience and a renewed friendship.

While I continue in my role as a project manager, husband and father, I hope to acknowledge those in my life in a timely manner. If you're wondering whether or not to acknowledge someone, take it from me, do it. Do it now, today."

Thank you Mr. Pond for being a demonstration of the living, breathing power of acknowledgment. You moved everyone in our session deeply with your story--leaving many of us in tears. You cannot begin to know how far the ripples of your story will be felt and acted upon. 

I received an intriguing question at a recent webinar I led: "How does Six Sigma training address or include the concept of acknowledgment?"

That question was actually a new one for me! So I turned to my colleague, Anne Foley, director of Six Sigma for International Institute of Learning Inc. Apart from the usual reasons why you need to acknowledge a team member, I asked what role she sees acknowledgment playing in Six Sigma training?

She said the training discusses the kind of culture you establish if you only acknowledge those who put fires out, without acknowledging those who actually prevent the fires.

"Fire prevention is critically important to business success but often goes without notice. If you want to change the culture, you must change the way you acknowledge, celebrate and reward employees by honoring those who prevent fires as much (if not more) than those who put them out."

Anne talked about how one of her green belt students discovered his company had a defective inventory management count. Finances showed the company had spent a certain dollar amount on inventory--and that did not match the amount of inventory in the system, which did not match the physical count.

He investigated and found that the inventory-entry process was broken, which could have left the company without critical inventory to run its business had the problem not been discovered. He found it, fixed it and his boss was so happy he wrote it up in an internal company newsletter and gave his employee a whole week off--with pay.

At several companies where Anne has conducted training, managers are trying so hard to acknowledge and encourage fire prevention that they actually run competitions among those who prevent errors--and the awards are big--from free dinners to stock options.

Sincere and heartfelt acknowledgment always makes a profound difference to people. But did you know it also prevents fires? What an awesome tool!

So thanks to the student who brought this question to my attention. I learned something important and hope you did, too!

I had the honor of presenting on the power of acknowledgement at PMI Global Congress 2009--North America in Orlando, Florida, USA last week. Whether it was a long presentation or a booth demo, people told me they were inspired into action.

I got into a deep conversation on acknowledgement with Efrain Pacheco, a senior project manager at the U.S. Department of Justice and assistant vice president of the Chapter-to-Chapter Outreach Program for the PMI Washington, D.C. chapter.

Efrain shared something poignant. He told me he's humble by nature and this is the way he was brought up in Ecuador. And as a result, he has difficulty accepting acknowledgements.

At the Executive Office for Immigration Review where he worked as project manager for the information systems and IT support, for example, Efrain was given an award for turning around project.

It was given to him in from of his whole office. So he smiled, but he told me he couldn't say anything or even let himself feel anything because he felt so strongly that his entire team should have received the award.

Efrain's story brings up two important issues: the need to accept acknowledgments with grace and appreciation, and the positive value of wanting to share the glory with one's team members. I am going to focus on the first now and address the other in a future post.

Here's the deal, folks. When we don't accept an acknowledgment graciously, it's as if that person gave you a gift, and you said, "No thanks. I don't want or need that. I don't even like it."

That's what an acknowledger is left with when the acknowledgee says, "Oh, it was nothing" or "It was no big deal." Or as in Efrain's case, when he just smiled but didn't express his appreciation and allow himself to feel the joy that comes naturally with being acknowledged. He just couldn't let it in. Instead, he kept a wall around himself.

When I told him he was rejecting a gift, he was shocked. He had never thought of it that way. He is now committed to working on accepting the precious gifts of acknowledgment.

Remember, someone who acknowledges another in a heartfelt and authentic way is making himself or herself vulnerable. They are trusting that the person will fully receive their gift.

Don't disappoint them.

After my last post, I received a thoughtful e-mail from a project manager in Barcelona, Spain. Because she was constantly criticized growing up, she said she had difficulty acknowledging others.

One's ability to acknowledge is an interesting and important topic. Although it focuses on our personal issues regarding whether or not we were acknowledged in our families, our schools and in our early jobs, we are all people first and project managers second. Therefore I would like to address the heartfelt question that was raised, as it has importance for all of us.

A person's ability to acknowledge others freely, generously and sincerely is linked to the way we're raised. If we were encouraged and praised as children, we're likely to grow up with a deep sense of self-worth and confidence. If we were constantly criticized, we have more work to do to gain a sense of self-worth.

We have to become our own support system, which can be hard. And it's even harder to acknowledge others when we've feel like we have not been acknowledged for who we are and the contributions we make. If that's true for you, then you will have to push yourself more to deliver acknowledgments that may come to mind but that you may have trouble carrying out.

We as human beings crave acknowledgment. Receiving acknowledgements releases a chemical called dopamine in our brains that makes us feel good, perform better and work harder to get more of what's called "the dopamine drench," per an article titled "In Praise of Praising Your Employees" published in the Gallup Management Journal.

So here's my advice if you were underacknowledged in your earlier life: Start by taking stock of who you are and what your contribution is to your workplace, your family and to the world. Then you can exercise the muscle on the underside of your right arm, as you reach up and over to give yourself a pat on the back!

In my courses, we always start by telling each other something special and unique about ourselves. I invite all of you to do just that--share something special about yourself with a friend or coworker--and send me an e-mail telling me about it. With your permission, I might even post it.

Acknowledging people for the contribution they make to a project team or to their organization is such a simple matter. It's something I say repeatedly wherever I can get on my "soapbox": We can acknowledge people at any time, at no cost, without having to buy anything, install software or study an instruction manual.

Last night my soapbox was a live webinar attended primarily by project managers from all over the world, including Hong Kong, China, India, Brazil and the United States.

During the seminar I asked participants, "How do you feel when you complete a project that you put your whole heart, soul, body, mind and spirit into for the past several months, the users love the end result and your manager gives you nothing more than a quick 'thank you?"

This was the response via text chat:

Thomas: discouraged
Tanya: feel used
Srikrithiga: not interested to work
James: discouraged
Suganthi: Discouraged
James: feel indifferent
Sanjib: feeling of being empty--what was I doing all the time?
Ravindra: No motivation
Tanya: I won't give my best effort
Linda: lack of loyalty
Linda: feeling insecure, not as interested in working so hard
Fabricio: lack of motivation
Jade: feel not being valued, lack of respect

Then I asked, "How do you feel if your manager tells you what a difference your work made to the project team, how your contribution made the project a success, how much the users loved it, that she was getting wonderful feedback on it, and that the next time you would get more resources so you didn't have to work so many nights and weekends?"

And they answered:
 
James: I would feel appreciated; that motivates me
Shelley: Motivated...willing to give an even greater effort
Linda: enthusiastic
Ravindra: I would make extra efforts
Mariano: I would feel like a giant
Jade: more loyalty
Linda Benedict: my confidence would be boosted by the acknowledgement
Srikrithiga: I would give 200% for work

Performance, loyalty, engagement, confidence, motivation, self-worth are all functions of acknowledgment rather than compensation.

Especially during these challenging economic times--when everyone is working harder and having to do more--let's do our best to create a culture of appreciation in which people know their value and their worth.

There could be nothing simpler and more satisfying and with greater results.

Organizations always seem to be looking for ways to keep major talent engaged and loyal. Simple as it sounds, they need look no further than making sure that they have created a culture of appreciation.

I have heard acknowledgments referred to as "the double paycheck," which I think is very fitting. Even people who earn less than they feel they should,  will dig in and engage fully if that other "paycheck" comes regularly.

After a presentation I made to the PMI Information Systems Specific Interest Group last year at its Professional Development Day, a woman came up to me and told me that she had just left a high-paying, senior-level job, with no other job lined up.

She left it, she said, because she hadn't realized that her former job at Booz Allen Hamilton was really a dream job. Although it probably wasn't the best job in the world, there was a culture of appreciation at that company that made it a pleasure to come to work each day.

"I am going back there," she said emphatically. "Even if the job pays less and the level is lower, I don't care. I didn't realize what a difference the atmosphere of a company makes. At the job [after Booz Allen Hamilton], I didn't know my worth or my value and I didn't feel appreciated for anything that I did. I'm going back to Booz Allen Hamilton, no matter what."

I later discussed this example with a Booz Allen Hamilton partner. "Oh," she laughed. "We call those the 'come-back kids' and we welcome them back once they realize what they were missing."

And yes, it is a part of the company's philosophy and its mission to have a culture of appreciation. They most certainly seem to be doing something right.

So what is that double paycheck worth? Everything!

I recently presented a keynote session on the power of acknowledgment to 800 attendees at a global project management conference in Helsinki, Finland.

Before my presentation, I kept hearing project managers say things like: "In Finland you know you are being acknowledged when your boss says, 'That wasn't too bad a job that you did.'" They told me repeatedly that acknowledgment was just not done in Finland.

I'd heard a similar trend in Germany--being acknowledged is when your boss doesn't say anything to you, I was told.

Now, I'm a perpetually optimistic person who always tells people they can single-handedly be agents for dramatic and powerful change--that it only takes one person to start the process. If someone acknowledges others in a heartfelt and authentic way, it will start to catch on.

But an entire culture? Could 800 project managers turn a whole culture around? Even I had my doubts.

During my presentation, I invited everyone to think of one person in their professional life that wanted, needed and deserved their acknowledgment but to whom they had never fully delivered it. Two brave people stood up and shared their profound and heartfelt acknowledgments of their Finnish bosses--who just happened to be in the audience!

Each time I asked both the acknowledger and the acknowledgee to stand. People in the audience were deeply moved and said this kind of exchange never occurs in Finland. Well, it did. Just because something is missing from a culture does not mean that it is not desirable or essential. Acknowledgment is, I believe, a basic human need, no matter what one's cultural conditioning.

I have since received e-mails from people in Finland telling me they've started to acknowledgment colleagues and family members in a profound and sincere way and are extremely pleased with the results. So I'm now becoming confident enough to say that yes, one project manager can certainly begin to change a culture.

Now just think of what 800 can do!  Germany, stay tuned!

Here's another interesting question I received from a student in the University of Maryland's e-Business and Project Management Program conflicts resolution course:

I enjoyed the book and I, too, am convinced that recognizing someone for a job well done makes them feel appreciated for their efforts.

There is another side to this coin, however, that I think needs to be addressed. The generation currently entering the workforce expects to be praised for everything they do.

Being raised in an era when everyone is a winner so as not to hurt their feelings and where everyone gets an award just for participating, they come into the workplace thinking that any accomplishment no matter how small should somehow be recognized.

What would you do in a situation like this so as to keep them engaged yet not play into their feelings that they are somehow entitled to praise?

John

We keep hearing that young people have been so over-validated and acknowledged for the most meager of contributions that they now expect it wherever they go. The generation gap is well established in the United States, but I checked with some colleagues in Europe and Asia who report the same issues there.

Younger workers seem to be getting a bad rap simply for being different from their older colleagues--and that's not entirely fair.

Elizabeth Kearney, Ph.D. says in the article "It Takes Six Steps to Build a Cross Generational Team," these younger people have been encouraged to:

1.    Step out and discover new ways to do things
2.    Move quickly
3.    Feel free to ask questions and expect them to be answered
4.    Believe in themselves and their ideas
5.    Use a team approach to solving problems
6.    Readily share their views
7.    Expect praise for their actions, which means that they may well react negatively when told "no."
8.    Expect help when it is needed--coaching, support and/or encouragement

These are not bad qualities. They are excellent, action-oriented, results-producing characteristics if properly utilized and appreciated by project leaders and key stakeholders.
We want to validate these people for the ways they help us meet our project goals, stay within our timelines and meet our budgets.

But the way we deliver this form of praise needs to be quick, specific, clear, yet heartfelt. If they expect praise for their actions, give it to them--but only when it is deserved.