Insights on Exposing Exceptional Performance
Exposing Exceptional Performance: It’s what I do
Last April, I was making my way to a Kinkos in San Francisco, printing handouts for my presentation at the Annual Conference of the Society for Performance Improvement. I walked in, out of breath, about 15 minutes before closing. I was expecting impatient service, but was received with open arms, quiet understanding, and thorough explanation of options and wait time. And all this with a smile. 
A deep breath and 15 seconds later, I was smiling too. I was about to expose exceptional performance! I have developed the skill and attitude to recognize work performed with heart. It’s harder than you think and it’s been therapy for me over the past few years. In moments of stress, hard work, intensely charged schedules, travel, and family activities, I find it comforts me to slow down to notice the little things that make up exceptional performance.
At the end of my Kinkos experience, I asked the gentleman if I could have his manager’s business card because I wanted to send her my feedback on his performance. My experience was mine alone and it was mine alone to recognize. If not me, then who?
He looked instantly worried and I reassured him that it was to expose his exceptional performance. And it just so happened that his manager was there at that very moment, and I would be able to deliver my feedback live. Awesome! The manager emerged with a worried look. Again I explained that all was perfect and I provided the details of my experience. She looked relieved and thanked me for taking the time to provide positive feedback about her staff’s performance. She had expected to spend the next 10 minutes appeasing me!
So this experience, like many others, allowed me to develop 2 insights:
- Insight about Others: It’s amazing how poorly prepared people are when receiving positive recognition and feedback. I am often confronted with this lack of preparedness when I recognize others ! This means that people:
- Don’t get recognition very often and tend to expect the worst
- Are insecure about their excellent performance because of the lack of feedback received
- Have a hard time accepting and believing recognition because they aren’t expecting it
- Insight about Myself: I offer myself a gift every time I help others recognize their exceptional effort and performance. The gift is an opportunity to focus on people and in doing so, I relax and enjoy helping others feel joy and appreciation.
After all, recognition goes a long way when delivered authentically – it offers people a better chance of feeling it, believing it, and paying it forward (in the workplace a definate impact on the bottom line)!
Post originally published on Ready to Feedback
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