Rewarding failure
An old Army buddy, Kenny (no that is not him) and I were talking leadership one day. Imagine that! He shared a story that really hit me. He was a first sergeant or VP of a mid-size company, a headquarters company, home to a larger organization’s (battalion) administrative staff, medics, maintenance, and other support teams. While participating in a large, graded field exercise, he was leading a convoy of multiple vehicles, people, and equipment to a tactical objective to support a larger organization’s mission. It was a complex mission by itself never mind the darkness and pounding rain which impeded movement. All of the sudden the convoy stopped. He attempted to radio the subordinate elements of the group but could not determine the problem. The mission was at risk. Kenny sprang into action, moving from vehicle to vehicle, leader to leader to diagnose the problem. He found a young soldier driving a tactical ambulance who could not operate her night vision goggles. She was blinded by the stealth, lightless movement of the convoy and could not keep up. Time was of the essence so he replaced her as the driver and got the convoy moving again. Thanks to his actions, the convoy arrived at its location just in time to support the battalion mission. When the exercise was over, higher level leadership, learning of his heroics awarded him an Army Commendation Medal for his ‘battlefield’ actions. Did Kenny deserve the award? He admitted, no.
Among so many other roles, it was his job to train the drivers in his charge. The fact that he had a driver on an important training exercise who was unprepared to operate a vehicle under such conditions indicates failure, not heroics. You could argue he should have been admonished. His lack of training and preparation contributed to the problem in the first place and it may have resulted in mission failure. It always troubled Kenny.
This story speaks to the greater intent and administering of an organization’s awards program. Leaders must use caution. Here are some pitfalls:
Over awarding. Giving too many bonuses or rewards. They will lose their meaning and people will feel entitled.
Rewarding average performance. I’ve seen applause for 70% performance or people being rewarded for simply doing their job. This approach marginalizes the greatness leaders desire of their organization.
Imbalance. One part of the company getting all the recognition. For instance, all the salespeople getting all the recognition while the support staff is forgotten.
Lack of consistency. This can happen when an award is presented to one person for an accomplishment and not another for the same or similar accomplishment.
Rewarding failure. Behind the accomplishment of a person or a team there may be failure. What if a salesperson was rewarded for closing a large deal but in the process caused greater expenses due to their sloppy recordkeeping and follow up? Leaders can miss failures due to their limited view and the results can be damaging. The rank and file will know the true story of what happened and what caused it.
Do you have an awards program? It is simple yet tremendously important. Start with a standard menu of awards (ribbons, plaques, bonuses) then set standards of where and when they should be given. Lastly, keep it fair and balanced and let your awards program achieve the intent it should; to shine a light on excellence, inspire, and motivate your people to go the extra mile.
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Rob
Rob Campbell