It has become abundantly clear to me that we all need recognition and praise from others. It seems so trite and silly at times and it seems so self-serving that it seems wrong to admit that we do need some praise and recognition to keep going. But, it is true and somewhere in the human experience it is built into us. At work there are systems that are established in the management process to try and bring that recognition and praise to people. Most of the time the systems that are built come across contrived or become over time rote and impersonal. The systems and processes are okay, but nothing replaces a good old-fashioned “thank you and well done” that is delivered in front of someones peers. The more spontaneous and tied to an event this can be done, the better. That type of recognition and praise goes a long, long way. In dealing with a personnel issue recently, I was reflecting on whether or not it was right or wrong that a very senior person in the organization seemed so needy for recognition and praise. I found myself saying to others, “this person is too experienced and in too big of a job to still be needing this level of recognition”. I still think there are degrees of anything that make the difference between what is acceptable and not, but at the root of it, my sentiment that this person shouldn’t still be looking for praise and recognition is probably wrong. We all need it and if it is not given, then the absence of recognition can be harmful for someone. I was reading a book this week by the author, Byron Ricks. The book is called, “Searching for Dad”. He talks about the need for sons to receive praise and recognition from their fathers. He says this; “Even Jesus longed for his Father’s praise. The Bible says, ‘After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of heavens said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.'” If God can give praise to Jesus then we can give praise and recognition to others. We can start today by looking around the office and trying to find the person who doesn’t receive the recognition they should and then go give them some. Write a hand-written note to that person. Send a letter or email to their boss or their bosses’ boss telling them how great this person is and asking for them to receive the recognition due. Or, just take a group of people on your team with you and walk over to this person’s cubicle, workstation or office, and ask for a minute to just say thank you as a group. Whatever it takes to deliver recognition and praise today. You will be glad you did.

Reference: Luke 3:21-22 (New Living Testament)