Brains, like hearts, go where they are appreciated. – Robert S. McNamara
Recognition is one of the most underutilized drivers of team performance, not because people don’t value it, but because it’s often poorly designed. Many organizations rely on recognition systems that feel forced, one-directional, or overly formal. The result is performative praise that lands as inauthentic posturing.
At Harmony Strategies Group, we see recognition systems not as a perk, but as a strategic lever for belonging, resilience, and conflict prevention. When done well, recognition systems not only boost morale but also strengthen culture, reduce organizational friction, and mitigate human capital risk.
The Problem with Most Recognition Systems
Let’s face it, recognition can backfire when it feels:
- Delayed: Given long after the contribution was made
- Generic: “Great job!” without specifics
- Top-down only: Manager-led recognition that leaves peer efforts unacknowledged
- Exclusionary: Rewarding the loudest voices or most visible wins
- Tied only to outcomes: Ignoring effort, learning, or emotional labor
As behavioral economist Dan Ariely noted in his TED Talk, What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work, people are not just motivated by money or status. We want to feel that our work is seen, meaningful, and appreciated, especially in times of stress or change.
If your team has a recognition system that feels optional or outdated, it may be unintentionally increasing burnout or conflict beneath the surface.
What a Strong Recognition System Looks Like
A well-designed system of recognition is:
- Timely: Happens in real time or close to the contribution
- Specific: Identifies the action or quality being appreciated
- Equitable: Recognizes many forms of contribution (not just outcomes)
- Multi-directional: Includes peer-to-peer, bottom-up, and leader-to-team recognition
- Embedded: Woven into workflows, not tacked on as an extra
In other words, recognition need not live in a quarterly award ceremony. It can show up in your feedback systems, your meeting rituals, and your leadership modeling.
The Link Between Recognition and Conflict Prevention
Unrecognized effort often leads to resentment. Over time, this shows up as:
- Passive disengagement
- Team tension over “invisible” labor
- Communication breakdowns
- Competition rather than collaboration
- Lackluster meetings
- Absenteeism
- High turnover
According to a Gallup and Workhuman report titled Unleashing the Human Element at Work: Transforming Workplaces Through Recognition Report, employees who receive regular, meaningful recognition are five times more likely to feel connected to their culture, and four times more likely to be engaged at work.
Recognition also plays a preventive role in workplace conflict. By acknowledging emotional labor, adaptability, and behind-the-scenes work, you reduce the likelihood of harmful assumptions, frustration, or blame taking root in a team.
Real-World Ways to Improve Recognition Systems
Here are some system-level shifts you can make whether you’re part of HR, team leadership, or a culture-building committee:
- Co-Create Recognition Norms
Ask your team: What does meaningful recognition look like to you? People have different preferences, public vs. private, verbal vs. written, formal vs. informal. Designing with the team, not for the team, ensures inclusivity.
- Highlight Emotional Labor
Much of the labor that keeps teams engaged goes unseen: from de-escalating a tense exchange, to onboarding a new colleague, to supporting a contrarian voice in a heated meeting. Inspiring leadership means noticing and acknowledging these expressions of emotional labor.
An interesting bit of data: statistically, women contribute more than men, but are less recognized and 76% of the time agree to requests to complete non-promotable tasks or traditional office ‘housework’. (Thompson, 2022).
- Design Peer-to-Peer Channels
Create lightweight systems, like Slack shout-outs, shared appreciation walls, or short “rose, bud & thorn” team huddles where peers can recognize one another. (Read more about the reflective exercise here). This flattens hierarchy and boosts connection.
- Make Recognition Part of Feedback
Train managers to include recognition as part of performance feedback. Review of performance need not be mere mistake correction. Rather, a supervisor can spend time recognizing improvement and learning or effort expended on completing a project. Including recognition during performance review helps create a culture of progress rather than demanding consistent perfection.
- Link Recognition to Values
Instead of rewarding just results, tie recognition to values: collaboration, curiosity, resilience, empathy. This reinforces a healthy workplace culture and encourages cooperation over competition.
- Audit for Equity
Track who is getting recognized and who isn’t. Are the same people always in the spotlight? Are caregivers or introverts going unnoticed? Recognition equity is part of the equation.
Culture Change Through Recognition
When done right, recognition becomes a daily act of cultural maintenance. It keeps teams emotionally attuned, builds shared pride, and cushions teams through moments of uncertainty.
And it doesn’t have to be complex. Sometimes, just looking someone in the eye and saying, “I saw what you did and I appreciate it,” can change the story from stagnant to dynamic engagement.
Priya Parker reminds us in an article titled The Future of Work is Creating Psychological Togetherness, that intentional design of even the smallest moments of acknowledgment shapes how people feel in the collective.
Think about your current team or organization:
- Who gets recognized most often — and why?
- Who does important work that might be going unnoticed?
- What’s one small change you could make this week to show appreciation — in a way that feels authentic and timely?
Recognition is not a reward for loyalty, it’s how loyalty is built.
Check out Harmony Strategies Group services on building resilience and team building.
Resources to Go Deeper
TED Talk – Dan Ariely: What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work
The Ultimate Guide to Rose, Bud & Thorn Exercise
Priya Parker Article – Meetings are now your culture carriers
Kelli Thompson: Women Do The Most Invisible Work At The Office – And It’s Getting Us Nowhere
