The Gift of Recognition

This week I went to the hospital for some tests and the nurse dutifully took my blood pressure, pulse etc. Given my not so youthful age I was keen to know what the numbers meant, so I asked. The rather dismissive reply was that they were all ‘normal’. As a psychologist I was intrigued by my response, I felt a little disappointed, not with the figures, but with her reaction.  I really wanted her to say, ‘they are good figures for your age as they are all in the normal range’. Which I could decode as ‘although you feel like you are eating and drinking too much and not looking after your body enough, you are doing OK’!
Some might say that such positive feedback for ‘normal’ performance is inappropriate and disingenuous, so praise should be used sparingly. But I would argue it is possible to operate a continuum from appreciation to recognition, up-to praise. This means praise can be reserved for the exceptional performers who are probably running marathons, but it is possible to give recognition to those who are doing a good job given the circumstance. Finally for me, appreciation is used to acknowledge effort even if results are not forthcoming yet. This can serve to motivate on-going engagement as people see that their attempts have been noticed. This can be a vital motivator when people are working in areas where they do not exert complete control over results.
 
Who deserves real praise from you?
Where can you give more recognition?
Who needs to feel appreciated for their efforts if not results?
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