Not All Recognition Is Equal

The Wisdom of the Flying Pig is a compendium of people skills gleaned from the experience of consultant and trainer, Jack Hayhow. It is a short, entertaining read that quickly hits the nail on the head on a great number of issues and rewards you with practical takeaways.

It is the great merit of Hayhow to remind readers of timeless principles for building relationships and getting work done through people. He reminds us, “No one responds well to manipulation—no matter how cleverly or skillfully the manipulation is done.”

The first principle of effective recognition: Provide recognition in an honest and authentic way.

Some managers think any recognition is good recognition. That’s just not true. If you objective for giving praise is to get something in return—stop immediately. That’s manipulation, and it is overwhelmingly likely to do more harm than good. People can spot manipulation a mile away, and they hate it. Recognition must always be attributed to honest efforts and/or successful results. Anything else undermines the manager’s credibility and the employee’s passion, loyalty, and effectiveness.

We learn a lot from the managers we work with. One of these managers told us about the recognition technique that inspired the title of this book. We’ll let her tell you the story of the flying pig.

“One of my favorite recognition tools is the When Pigs Fly award. I’m sure you’re familiar with the expression when pigs fly. That expression usually means something is impossible. Well, I was walking through an airport, it was in Las Vegas I think, and I saw one of these silly flying pigs. I thought, WOW! That would be a perfect award when people do something really tough. So I brought one of the flying pigs home. Every so often we let our team decide who was accomplished the most impossible task and that person has the honor of displaying the coveted flying pig.

What are you doing to find what's right in people?

  The Wisdom of the Flying Pig is available at Amazon.