November 2025
The Recognition Habit
“People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards.”
– Dale Carnegie
OVERVIEW
Recognition in the workplace is essential for fostering a motivated and engaged workforce, as it validates employees' efforts and contributions, boosting morale and job satisfaction. When leaders acknowledge achievements—whether through verbal praise, awards, or promotions—it reinforces positive behaviors, encourages higher performance, and reduces turnover by making individuals feel valued and connected to the organization's goals. Additionally, recognition promotes a culture of appreciation that enhances collaboration, innovation, and overall productivity, ultimately driving better business outcomes and a healthier work environment.
3x3 Recognition Exercise
For this meeting you’ll be introducing three different types of recognition designed to drive specific behaviors, reinforce team values, and strengthen cross-departmental partnerships. We will focus on implementing three high-impact recognition activities:
INSTRUCTIONS
The 3x3 Recognition activity is designed to transform appreciation from something that happens occasionally into a consistent leadership habit. The idea is simple, give weekly recognition in 3 different ways:
Written Recognition: Send three personalized, specific notes (email or handwritten) this month detailing exactly what someone did well and the impact it had on the business.
Public Recognition: Publicly recognize three different team members in a group setting (e.g., a team meeting) for their contribution to a successful project that had a positive impact on the business or workflow.
Cross-Departmental Recognition: Send three appreciation emails to individuals on other teams (Sales, Finance, Operations, etc.) who have helped your team succeed.
Using the provided worksheet, give your team about 5-10 minutes to fill in the names of the recipients deserving of written recognition, public recognition and cross-departmental recognition (3 names for each category, for a total of 9 recipients)! There is enough space to jot down a quick note about the action/reason for each recipient’s recognition. After everyone has completed the exercise, encourage your team to share any public recognitions that are intended for members of the group that are in the room! As for the other types of recognition, they do not need to share the names but they should commit to giving the recognition by the end of the week. Challenge everyone to keep up with this weekly until the habit is formed.
The goal of this exercise is to help leaders master consistency, ensuring recognition is intentional and that going the extra mile does not go unnoticed.
WRAP-UP
Remember that the aim is to move beyond generic "Thank You’s" to intentional recognition that fosters strong work ethics.
Written Recognition builds sincerity and reinforces specific, high-value actions by linking them directly to business impact.
Public Recognition strategically reinforces connecting individual contributions to the bigger company goals, and models those positive actions for others in the room.
Cross-Departmental Recognition actively invests in key partnerships, encouraging collaboration.
These three steps ensure our appreciation is both meaningful to the individual and valuable to the business.
BONUS OPPORTUNITY
In the spirit of recognition this month, we invite you to participate in our “Thanksgiving Thankful’s” tradition with your team! While the prompt may change slightly each year, the goal is the same—to recognize, acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of the team that makes your organization AWESOME!
We ask each member of the management team to essentially answer why they are thankful for every other member of the management team. Then, we collect all of the responses and create a meaningful gift for each person (that doesn’t cost much)! From gratitude journal’s with a “thankful” posted at the top of each page, to a jar full of thankful’s, to a word-cloud ornament, the possibilities are endless.
This tradition has become a favorite of our team, and produces some of the most authentic, genuine, and emotional moments of the year that no amount of money could buy. Sneak peek: This year we are utilizing a little help from our AI friends :) We look forward to sharing more during the call!