Pull Up A Chair #6

We talk a lot about recognition at work.

Swag drops.

Branded sweatshirts.

Water bottles with company logos.

And yet—people are still burned out. Still unseen.

Because recognition isn’t about what you give.

It’s about whether someone feels known.

Years ago, I started a new job and had a simple conversation with my boss. We talked about basketball, my love for March Madness, and my admiration for Sister Jean. The next morning, I walked into my office and found a Sister Jean bobblehead sitting on my desk. With a handwritten note. What I didn’t know until later? That bobblehead had been sitting on his shelf for years.

He didn’t order it.

He didn’t delegate it.

He gave something of his own—because he had listened.

That moment stayed with me.

Not because of the bobblehead.

But because it said: I see you.

Now—another moment.

In a different organization, I watched employees struggle to make ends meet.

Choosing between gas and groceries. Quietly navigating food insecurity. And in the midst of that reality? They were given… company swag. A water bottle. A branded sweatshirt. Well-intended. But completely disconnected.

Because when someone is worried about how to get to work tomorrow, a sweatshirt doesn’t say I see you. It says: I didn’t ask.

This is where leaders miss the mark.

Recognition is not about checking a box.

It’s about tuning in.

It’s:

- A handwritten note that names something specific

- A stretch opportunity that says I believe in you

- Support that meets someone in their actual life—not an idealized version of it

- Sometimes, yes—a Visa gift card instead of a logo

Because people aren’t all motivated—or sustained—by the same things.

In a moment where so many are stretched thin, recognition isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s a leadership responsibility.

But it requires something more than budget. It requires attention. Humility. And a willingness to actually know the people you lead. Not broadly. Individually.

The best leaders don’t recognize everyone the same way. They recognize people in ways that feel true to them.

That’s the difference between appreciation…

and being seen.

Pull up a chair—how are you making your people feel known?