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A guide for expressing recognition at work

In my 1-on-1 coaching sessions, feedback is a topic that comes up a lot. We often use feedback as a tool for correcting bad behaviors, but also for reinforcing good ones. When it comes to teamwork, feedback is essential.

When asked “How often do you genuinely recognize your peers or team members for their good work?”, the answer is usually not enough. That’s because we tend to focus on what can be improved rather than what we want to maintain.

Here’s the thing: if you want your constructive feedback to make a difference, you need to balance it with recognition or positive feedback. That’s a piece of the puzzle that often gets overlooked.

So, what’s the best way to express recognition?

In today’s article we’re covering:

• Why expressing recognition matters

• Simple ways to show recognition + examples

Let’s dive in!

Why showing appreciation matters

It makes people feel valued and motivated. When you acknowledge someone’s efforts, it triggers a dopamine boost. Dopamine makes people feel good and confident. It also motivates them to keep going. It’s like saying, “I see you, and I appreciate what you’re doing.”.

It strengthens relationships. When people feel appreciated, they’re more likely to trust and support you. Imagine feeling like you’re part of a team that cares about you! Over time, this leads to better teamwork, higher morale, and a more enjoyable environment for everyone.

It makes you more likable and it increases your influence within the team. Simply put, people will be more open to listening to you if they like you. This is something we discuss in my course as well.

Simple ways to show recognition

Method #1: Giving credit where it’s due

• Give a shoutout in meetings: During team meetings, you can give credit by acknowledging people’s contributions. For example, you could say:

  As [Coworker] pointed out earlier in the code review…

  [Coworker] was the one who suggested the new deployment strategy, …

• Emails / chat messages: When sending out a group email or a note over chat, mention the person who contributed by writing:

  The performance improvements in the latest update are thanks to [coworker]’s detailed profiling work.

• Casual mentions in conversations: When chatting with other colleagues or your higher-ups, bring up your coworker’s help or ideas. It’s a simple way to boost their reputation:

  It was actually [coworker] who came up with the refactoring plan. It made the codebase much cleaner.

• Support their ideas: In meetings, when they share ideas, back them up by echoing their points or adding to their suggestions. This reinforces their value in front of the team.

  I share [coworker]’s concern, we should be very careful when handling this corner case.
  I think we should do what [coworker] suggested, but also add an extra check for the deployment.

• Project launches: When announcing a launch, make sure to give credit to those who contributed.

  I would love to thank everyone who made this effort possible:
  Backend team:
  Frontend team:
  Product:
  Leadership:
  Advisors: …

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Method #2: Praising efforts and achievements

• Send a personal note: Write a quick note or email to express your appreciation (it’s even better handwritten):

  I really appreciate how you handled that server outage today. You stayed calm and fixed it quickly.

• One-on-one: Directly tell the person you appreciate their work:

  I noticed how you’ve been tackling those tricky bugs lately. You’re doing a fantastic job and wanted you to know it doesn’t go unnoticed.

• Public shout-out: During a team meeting, say:

  I just want to recognize [coworker] for jumping in to fix that critical bug last minute. Thanks to her we were able to launch on time.

• Give positive feedback to their managers: It’s important for that person’s manager to know their report is doing so well, so make sure you tell them:

  I just wanted to mention that [coworker] has been doing an amazing job with the database migration. Their proactive approach and attention to detail really stood out, and it made the whole process so much smoother for our team.

Parting words

What are some of your preferred ways to show/receive appreciation? Would love to hear from you (reply to this email or add a comment below).

Thank you for being here! 🙏🏻

Until next time,
Your Caring Techie

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