For many, including myself, feeling comfortable highlighting our achievements is like learning to play a literal trumpet.

It can feel awkward and daunting if you haven’t done it before. The first few attempts can feel embarrassing and end up sounding different than intended.

It is my experience that many individuals feel that it’s their manager’s job to notice as opposed to as a part of their skill development.

A team’s culture, unity and cohesion can stutter when there is an undercurrent of feeling underappreciated while others appear to be continually recognised.

I’ve found the following three tips helpful for balancing recognition:

1. Treat and talk about it with individuals and a team as a communication skill that can be developed as opposed to being a set personality trait.
2. Ask open-ended questions in coaching and one-on-one that enable people to practice the skills of articulating their highlights, such as “What worked well this week”, “What are most proud of achieving this week” and “What is something you’ve done you hoped I noticed?”.
3. Share with a team best practice examples of what well-written annual self-appraisal, performance reviews and scorecards look like, allowing them to better hone the skill.

Sharing these skills does not just help the individuals in the team now but can be something they carry forward for the rest of their professional lives, making a very real difference to them, their families and the opportunities they get.

My leadership cartoons illustrate skill development, leadership style, learning, and emerging leader development to bring a thoughtful smile to your day.

If, like me, you feel good leadership can make the world a better place for everyone and you want to see more of my work, click the following icon on my LinkedIn profile, Lee Sampson and join over 3,000 others getting a daily dose of fun and thoughtful penguin cartoons in their LinkedIn feed.