4 ways to be smarter about how you give recognition and reinforcing feedback

You want to help your direct reports improve and do great work. And you know that giving recognition and reinforcing feedback is an important part of making that happen. But are you getting the outcomes you want?

If your direct reports aren’t responding or following through in the ways you hope, the issue could be how you’re delivering your message.

Use these guidelines to help distinguish between recognition and reinforcing feedback and to learn how to use them to make your direct reports feel appreciated and confident that they’re going in the right direction.

Test yourself: Which statements are recognition and which are reinforcing feedback?

1. “Your willingness to pitch in where people need help makes the whole team stronger. Keep it up.”
2. “Excellent presentation today! All your hard work on it really paid off.”
3. “You handled that customer complaint brilliantly.”
4. “You did a great job ending your presentation on time today. That may seem like a small thing, but I could tell the group appreciated having time for Q&A. Please keep doing that.”
5. “Good job connecting the customer’s top needs to each product feature—it really kept the client interested so they asked great questions. That’s exactly the kind of engagement we want on these calls.”
6. “Congratulations on finishing project X! It’s been a huge effort over the past two months. Thank you.”
7. “I appreciate how you shared your expertise in our last team meeting. It really helped the group get unstuck.”
8. “The way you shortened the guidelines makes them clearer and easier to follow. I’d like you to bring that same approach to our other instructional documents.”

Answers:
Recognition: 2, 3, 6, and 7. Reinforcing feedback: 1, 4, 5, and 8.

Giving recognition vs. giving reinforcing feedback

If you’re like many managers, you probably say positive things without giving them too much thought. But you may be missing opportunities to give more powerful acknowledgment and have people respond so they get better at their jobs.

• Give recognition to praise or show appreciation. Recognition highlights something a person has done and lets them know that you value what they do. So when you say, “Excellent presentation today! All your hard work on it really paid off” (statement 2 above), your direct report might say “Thanks” and think, Yay, you noticed and understand how hard I’m working. Recognition provides a boost by validating someone’s efforts in the moment (e.g., “Great job handling that customer complaint”), in thank-you notes, and in 1-on-1s (for those who don’t like public praise) or in team celebrations (for those who like public praise).
• Give reinforcing feedback to encourage a behavior. Reinforcing feedback, like recognition, points out something that the person has done, but then uses it as an example to request (directly or indirectly) more of that behavior in the future. For example, when a direct report is working on their client pitches, you might say, “Good job connecting the customer’s top needs to each product feature—it really kept the client interested so they asked great questions. That’s exactly the kind of engagement we want on these calls” (statement 5 above). And they might respond, “Good to know. I will keep doing that.” Reinforcing feedback gives the person a clear picture of what they can do to keep bringing value and succeeding—with the confidence that they’re working toward the right goal and a sense of accomplishment when they get there.

4 ways to improve your recognition and reinforcing feedback

These techniques apply to both recognition and reinforcing feedback.

1. Focus on effort and/or outcomes, not personal traits.

Poor (focusing on personal traits): “You’re brilliant!”

Better (focusing on effort): “You handled that customer complaint brilliantly.”

It’s much easier for people to change their effort and behavior than their personality. A compliment like “You’re brilliant!” could lose its value over time if the person begins to think, So that means I can stop learning and trying. When you recognize the person’s effort or outcome, they may feel a greater sense of accomplishment being praised for something they did rather than who they are.

When you give feedback about someone’s effort or outcome, you’re providing useful information going forward. For example, “You handled that customer complaint brilliantly. I saw that you paused when the customer needed time to think before they responded and then you paraphrased their idea to make sure you understood them. Those listening techniques helped them feel heard and helped you quickly find the best solution for them.” And you could connect the person’s behavior to your expectations and goals: “That’s the kind of service that’s going to increase our customer satisfaction scores.”

2. Be specific about the behaviors you observed.

Poor (general): “Nice job on the client call. Keep it up.”

Better (specific): “Good job connecting the customer’s top needs to each product feature—it really kept the client interested so they asked great questions.”

Without specifics—what your direct report did and the impact it had—they might not know what “nice job” means or what they should be “keeping up.” If a client call goes well, they could mistakenly think, The client call went well because they laughed at my joke in the beginning—my boss must have liked it, too. I should keep making jokes. And you could be disappointed on the next call when your direct report again opens with a joke but then fails to connect the customer’s top needs to the product features.

One of direct reports’ top frustrations is lack of clear expectations from their manager. If you want someone to continue a behavior, point out exactly what they did so that they know how to do it again—and be explicit that you want more of that behavior (e.g., “That’s exactly what you should be doing” or “Keep doing that”).

3. Use recognition and reinforcing feedback together for maximum effect.

Think of reinforcing feedback as cake and recognition as frosting. Including only frosting (recognition like “Good job!”) gives a good buzz but isn’t enough to sustain someone in the long run. Having only cake (reinforcing feedback) can be substantive and satisfying because it gives people clarity and confidence that they’re headed in the right direction. But it tastes way better with the frosting—that little extra boost that comes from feeling valued.

For example:

“I appreciate how you shared your expertise in our last team meeting [recognition]. It really helped the group get unstuck [impact]. Please keep looking for opportunities to help out like that [reinforcing feedback].”

You don’t always need to combine them. Doing so could come off as patronizing if you go overboard when the person is doing something easy or expected (e.g., When saying, “No errors in your report—good job,” you probably don’t need to add reinforcing feedback such as “Keep it up”). Save the combo for when a direct report is doing something challenging or out of their comfort zone.

4. Practice to find a style that works for you and your direct reports.

As you become more intentional about giving better recognition and reinforcing feedback, you can feel like it’s formulaic. But with a little practice and attention to detail, you can find a style that feels natural for you and that your direct reports receive well.

• Start with writing—where it’s easier to be intentional—rather than when speaking in the moment. Take time to formulate your message. Instead of “I like that” or “Good job,” get specific by describing exactly what the person did, its impact, why you value their contribution, and/or how they should continue.
• Ask about and honor people’s preferences. For example, “I would like to recognize your work on project X. Would you be comfortable with my bringing it up at Tuesday’s team meeting?” Recognition makes some people uncomfortable, especially when done publicly. They might prefer a personalized note or a group celebration that puts less of a spotlight on them. For more, see Recognize a direct report’s excellence in a creative, customized way.
• Pay attention to how people respond. If they light up or show enthusiasm, then your messages are probably landing as you intend. If they don’t respond with more of the behaviors you want, then you might not be clear or specific enough. Or if they respond cynically, negatively, or not at all, you could be misreading the situation or recognizing or giving feedback on things they find easy or obvious. Or there could be something else going on. Ask open-ended questions to get to the root of the issue (e.g., “You don’t seem enthusiastic about this. Could you share more about what you’re thinking?”).