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How Do You Like Your Recognition? A Self-Assessment

Purpose

1. To give team members an opportunity to understand what types of recognition they value.
2. To give team members an opportunity to learn what motivates their teammates.
3. To help team members and others tailor their recognition more specifically to the needs of their teammates.

Group Size

Most useful as an exercise for an intact team of ten or less. However, it can be used in a team-training class of twenty to thirty people. It can even be adapted for use with larger groups that are divided into small sub-groups.

Time

1 hour

Physical Setting

Chairs around a round or rectangular table for an intact team. For a large group, clusters of chairs and tables set around the room.

Materials

1. One copy of How Do You Like Your Recognition? handout for each person
2. One copy of How Do You Like Your Recognition? Score Sheet for each person.

Process

1. Explain the purpose of the activity.
2. Distribute the How Do You Like Your Recognition? handout to each person. Ask participants to complete the survey individually.
3. Distribute the Score Sheet and ask each person to complete the form.

4. Present a lecturette on the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

   Explain that extrinsic factors are forms of recognition that come from outside the person and appeal to their outer-directed self. Intrinsic motivators appeal to the inner self, as they focus on things that might only be important to the person.

   They both have their place, and one is not better than the other. You might want to refer to a basic psychology text for more background on motivation prior to conducting this session.

5. With an intact team, ask each person to share their results and talk more specifically about what motivates and what de-motivates them and why certain things would be especially appealing while others would be a real turn-off. If possible, ask people to share some examples of recognition they have received in the past and how they reacted to it.
6. Debrief the activity by asking what people learned and how they can put this learning to use.

Debriefing

• What did you learn about yourself as a result of this activity?
• What did you learn about your teammates?
• What did you learn about recognition? About motivation?
• How will this change the way you interact with your teammates?
• In what ways should the team change the ways it recognizes outstanding performance?
• What norms should we add to our list as a result of this activity?
• What implications does this activity have for your (our) organization's reward and recognition program?
• What information should we give to our manager or sponsor about recognition?

Variations

1. It might be fun and useful to obtain a team score for extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Add all the scores for each and divide this number by the number of participants to get a team average for intrinsic and extrinsic forms of recognition. Use these results as a basis for a discussion on forms of recognition for the team as a whole.
2. If time is short, ask people to fill out the survey as pre-work for the session.

Handout

How Do You Like Your Recognition?

Directions: Please review the following list of forms of recognition. Check the forms that you value and would like to receive. You may check as many as you like, but only check the ones that appeal to you.

1. _____ To receive positive verbal feedback at a staff meeting.
2. _____ To be asked to take on a tough problem or a new challenge.
3. _____ To be asked to give a presentation on your work at a staff meeting or a company conference.
4. _____ To receive positive, handwritten comments in the margin of a document you prepared.
5. _____ To be invited to a barbecue or dinner party at the home of your boss.
6. _____ To be given the opportunity to work flexible hours or work at home.
7. _____ To attend a golf and tennis weekend at a beautiful resort with other award winners from the organization.
8. _____ To be given the opportunity to purchase new tools and equipment to enhance your work.
9. _____ To have your picture and a story about your work appear in the company or community newspaper.
10. _____ To be asked for your opinion on a difficult organizational problem or a new business opportunity .
11. _____ To be given the opportunity to speak about your work at an important professional conference.
12. _____ To be offered the opportunity to learn anew system or operate some new equipment, or in other ways increase your skills and knowledge.
13. _____ To have your picture displayed in a prominent location, along with either letters of commendation or a description of your work, or both.
14. _____ To be asked to help a colleague get started with a project or solve a particularly difficult problem.
15. _____ To receive verbal recognition for your work from a senior-level executive at a company forum attended by you and your colleagues.
16. _____ A solution that you recommended is being implemented throughout the organization.
17. _____ A customer or other stakeholder sends a letter to your boss, praising your work.
18. _____ When you ask for help, your boss offers to pick up some of the load directly, share his/her expertise, or obtain outside assistance.
19. _____ To be presented with a T -shirt, hat, or mug with your name or other indication on it that makes it clear that it is recognition for your work.
20. _____ To be empowered to make decisions, or to be able to act in other ways that increase control over your work.

Handout

How Do You Like Your Recognition?
Score Sheet

Directions: Please transfer your responses to the columns below by placing a check beside the same numbers you checked on the survey, and then tally the columns.

Extrinsic Rewards            Intrinsic Rewards
or Recognition               or Recognition

     1. _____                 2. _____
     3. _____                 4. _____
     5. _____                 6. _____
     7. _____                 8. _____
     9. _____                10. _____
    11. _____                12. _____
    13. _____                14. _____
    15. _____                16. _____
    17. _____                18. _____
    19. _____                20. _____

TOTAL = _____            TOTAL = _____

    

Reprinted from Glenn Parker and Richard Kropp, Team Workout: 50 Interactive Activities, HRD Press, 2000. This exercise originally appeared in S. Thiagarajan and G. Parker, Teamwork and Teamplay: Games and Activities for Building and Training Teams, Pfeiffer, 1999.