The Project’s Success Wasn’t Because of You…

Have you ever helped on a project or group assignment and watched someone else get all of the glory because of their position with the company? They didn’t even bother saying thank you or mention your name. Do managers know that not saying anything positive about the whole team’s contributions is often equal to — “your work doesn’t matter”? How motivated did you feel after that?

At one of my previous jobs, I worked on qualification statements for an engineering firm. I will never forget the first time one of the proposals I assembled and submitted was awarded to the company. I was over-the-moon excited and full of motivation to take on the next one. Unfortunately, it didn’t take but mere minutes for my supervisor to inform me that the selection of proposals had nothing to do with my work, but everything to do with the qualifications of the engineers and the relationships they had with the client. And if hearing it once wasn’t enough — I was told that multiple times throughout my 4 years there (by more than one person).

*OUCH!*

Apparently it didn’t matter that each submission came with its own list of criteria, required information, and deadlines — which I was solely responsible for handling. Didn’t that count for anything? Was I not supposed to be happy about the award of a multi-million-dollar contract that we could’ve easily been disqualified from had I not followed their strict layout specifications or forgot any of the required documents?

Let me point out, I was in no way interested in all of the glory — I don’t even like being in the spotlight. I was also fully aware that the knowledge and experience of the personnel proposed to complete the project, if awarded, were the main reasons for selection. But was it really necessary to tell me my part DIDN’T matter? Was that their attempt at motivation? Needless to say, over time I went from being excited to come to work every day to dreading stepping foot in there. (And this was a place that advertised on their website that they were a “great place to work”!)

Thankfully not all workplaces are that extreme, but too many employers fail to realize that when you DON’T give recognition or appreciation, it can come across the same as straight-up telling your employee their work is irrelevant.

So don’t forget to say “thank you” and be familiar enough with the work involved to identify the value of each role played. Don’t let something as simple as credit and appreciation be the reason you lose quality people. There are even apps available that encourage ALL employees to get involved in highlighting the value in each other (taking the sole responsibility off of upper management). For example, Goodseeker is a platform for employees to capture and share good-job stories at work and in turn that helps with culture building, branding, and increased productivity, morale and visibility.

Get to know your employees and learn what makes them feel encouraged. Find opportunities to empower people to be better than they were yesterday. Enjoy connecting each individual’s work to what makes the company great and build a culture that invites everyone to share in the success.