“Where are the Oscars for us mortals?”

The news coverage associated with the Oscars underlined a lesson for effective leadership in times of economic dislocation. It makes one think "Where are the Oscars for us mortals?"

Kate Winslett, Sean Penn and Danny Boyle were recipients of much more than a small, gold statuette. They got something money can't buy - recognition.

In fact, it's something we all crave. As psychologist Frederick Herzberg found, satisfaction does not come from pay but from challenging work, responsibility and ... recognition. Maybe the business world can learn something from Hollywood in this challenging economic environment.

Pay cuts are becoming more commonplace than pay rises. If a salary and bonus ever could help you keep your talent, it's doubtful it could today. Recognition need cost nothing - assuming you don't go for the Vanity Fair party - yet too often it is forgotten. The issue has everything to do with two leadership behaviours identified by CHPD as crucial to high performance leadership - 'building confidence' and 'developing people'.

Dr Tony Cockerill, CHPD founder and expert in leadership, explains: “There are 12 behaviours that have been identified as making the difference between average and high performing leadership. Two of these are clearly linked to recognition; ‘building confidence’ ties in with the public or external recognition of good work, while ‘developing people’ links to the one-to-one feedback that you give people about their performance. As a manager, if you have strengths in both behaviours, you are likely to have staff who feel recognised and valued for their contribution.”

Strengths in both behaviours necessary for recognition can be rare. In a recent snapshot of results from years of assessment of leaders in the UK, we found that, on average, leaders were under-developed when it came to ‘developing people’ (diagram below).

CHPD both assesses leaders against these 12 behaviours and then helps them achieve a higher level of performance through training and coaching. To find out how your leaders stack up against the key benchmarks, email info@chpd.com. In the meantime, try the following tips to boost the satisfaction of your people:

• Be specific with your recognition – don’t just say ‘you do a great job’, tell someone exactly what they did that has been appreciated. This way you not only make them feel valued, but they are also clear about what great behaviour looks like and what they need to focus on in the future.
  
• Try a handwritten note – something that stands out from a regular email and that you’ve put some effort in to
  
• Don’t combine praise and criticism – if there are issues with performance raise them separately from the praise, otherwise the recipient with only focus on the criticism not the praise you’re trying to impart. People are wise to the ‘feedback sandwich’ now – good thing, bad thing, good thing – and can be waiting for the ‘bad’.
  
• Present your own Oscars – why not get hold of a few statuettes or certificates to hand out to worthy winners. Having them around the office and pinned to notice boards can stimulate positive conversations and ensure that colleagues know why someone has been recognised.

After all, if it’s good enough for Kate, Sean and Danny, it’s good enough for you!

For more information on CHPD's leadership behaviours email info@chpd.com or visit our website http://www.chpd.com/