There are rewards and then there are rewards that take your breath away. That is an exaggerated way of saying not all rewards given to team members in an organization are of equal value or impact. Some organizational rewards carry more weight because they are both unexpected and special.
Most importantly, they make it clear to everyone in the enterprise that the leaders truly care about the people who sacrifice every day to make the organization successful.
Great leaders and organizations go out of their way to express their genuine gratitude to everyone in the enterprise. On occasion, and without fanfare or notice, they do something special that knocks everyone’s socks off.
Sometimes the special reward is given to the entire team, and other times it is directed at a specific team or individual. The key is to do something unexpected that team members would be unlikely to do for themselves.
Team members feel extra special when the organization arranges for something extravagant in style but not necessarily expensive. The best rewards compel team members to tell others outside the organization all about the experience or bounty they received.
The best rewards make them feel honored, respected, and important. In fact, if team members don’t take and share photos of the reward, it probably wasn’t all that special.
This list of possible rewards is only limited by creativity.
Host a team breakfast with a celebrity, provide a moving service for any team member who relocates, send a fruit bouquet to the newest or most tenured colleagues, furnish wellness packages including memberships and treatments, organize personalized photo shoots, arrange for a private concert, offer the latest high tech gadgets for testing, send teams or team members on adventure trips, purchase hard to get tickets, send an old-fashioned telegram with balloons after a personal or professional milestone, sponsor a hands-on charity experience, hire an interior designer to redo any personal space, enroll team members in classes with renown experts, and so on.
Imagination is your friend here. Every once in a while, out of the blue, unconnected to team performance and totally unexpected, the best leaders and organizations go to great lengths to make an important point: that the team and team members really matter as people and deserve to be treated to something special, memorable, and uplifting.
Leaders don’t do it to create pride, to build team spirit, or to be recognized for their creativity. They do it because they care.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
