Thank you

Last year I was deep in discussion on gratitude practices, team management and the intersection of both as a leadership practice.

In thinking about how to bring recognition more fully into my own behaviour I borrowed from some of the behavioral science I've read.

If you have the capability (i.e. you know how to recognize someone's behaviour, word choices, specificity etc.) and, you have the motivation (i.e. you want to recognize the behavior in that individual) how can you create the environment around you to prompt you (a reminder to give recognition, or a method to remove barriers to recognition)?

My answer - the calendar. I set a reminder "who are you going to recognize today?" for once a week. And then something interesting happened. For the first 2-3 weeks I really had to think about where I'd noticed something worthy of giving recognition. But after those first few weeks, I began to notice opportunities to give recognition everywhere around me. I had built the habit to the point where the reminder prompts me to send the message, mail or call, but I don't have to think about who or what I'll recognize, I already have a list in mind. And every. single. person I give recognition too enjoys it.