This week, Chester and I spoke at the international gathering of the Meeting Planners International. Two of our team members were passing out Carrot books in a booth in the exhibit hall. A couple of women hustled up to our folks and asked if they would give a copy of The Carrot Principle to their boss who was coming along just a few paces behind. “He really needs it,” they whispered quickly, then moved away to watch.
The manager when handed the book shook his head and said, “Don’t need it. I’m good at that stuff.” Hmmm. How do you say, “Your employees want you to have this?” Actually, just like that. And our team members say the honesty felt great.
This mistaken manager is not alone. We recently conducted a survey of 10,000 working adults for the second edition of The Carrot Principle. Here’s what we found:
Percent of managers worldwide who believe they are above average at recognizing their employees? 67 percent.
Percent of employees who agree? 23 percent.
Sorry to say it, but there’s a very good chance you aren’t as good as you think you are. It’s time to go back to a few of the basics: recognition is frequent, specific and timely. Recognition is for individuals, celebrations are for teams. We praise effort, but we reward results.
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