All forms of recognition pay dividends to all

  • Published
  • By Col. Richard Klumpp, Jr.
  • Commander
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  Remember when you were in the first grade and the teacher gave you a gold star for behavior, because you finally made it through a week without shooting a spitball at Susie Jenkins? You liked it so much you got another the next week, because you finally turned in your homework. You actually made it through a night without the dog eating it. Your teacher was recognizing and rewarding your performance.

Now turn the clock forward 20 years--okay, 35 or 40 years in some of our cases--and you're the teacher, or supervisor. Jim Clemmer wrote in his article "Recognition and Appreciation Inspires and Energizes," that only two groups of people thrive on sincere recognition and genuine appreciation - men and women.

The great majority of us have one or more troops that we supervise, and if they fall into one of the two groups noted above, they crave recognition. As supervisors, recognizing our troops for a job well done is one of our best management tools and one we should take every opportunity to use.

Recognition takes many different forms. It's as simple as saying "Hi" when you see someone in the hall and as complex as putting together a package for an Air Force level award. In many cases, especially with medals and awards, that recognition is money in the bank for your troops. Those medals and awards make strong Enlisted Performance Reports bullets, which in turn make strong promotion records, which lead to extra stripes.

But, recognition is a lot of work. It doesn't just happen. You have to seek out the extra opportunities to reward your folks for a job well done. We all know about the quarterly awards and some of the more common AETC and Air Force awards, but have you done the research on all the other opportunities out there?

When I was a squadron commander, the Wing put out a short-notice suspense for a heroism award sponsored by the USO--an award I didn't know existed. My first sergeant read the instructions, found someone in the squadron who she felt was qualified and put together a first-rate package. We had a pretty good feeling because we were the only ones on base to submit a package! Our troop was selected, got to go to a fancy dinner in D.C., met Gen. Tommy Franks and Ann-Margret and was recognized as the Air Force winner of the award--not to mention that bullet on his EPR and a better chance at promotion next go around.

Just as important as winning the awards or promotions is how you let the rest of the squadron/group/wing know about your star performer. The secondary effect of good recognition is the way it reflects on the entire organization. Those of you who have been to a Wing quarterly awards ceremony know that the entire Group celebrates when one of their own wins an award. When your Group wins, every one feels good and folks work that much harder so they'll be the one on stage next time.

The ultimate form of recognition is the promotion. All the baby steps your troop makes through the year come together when they put on that higher rank. My absolute favorite part of being a commander was notifying someone they've been promoted. When the master sergeant list came out, I had a brand new member of my orderly room who was on the list on his first try. When I told him he was selected, he got very emotional and was obviously overwhelmed. I was thrilled to be a part of that special moment, but it was his previous squadron that deserves the supervisory credit. They did the work to recognize his superior efforts and help ensure he was selected.

Going to the promotion ceremony can also be a form of recognition, not just for the troop being promoted, but for every one else that sees where hard work can get them. I was lucky as a squadron commander, because we had some unique opportunities to make things extra special. I had another troop pinning on master sergeant who was on a DV mission. We checked and discovered she was flying with General Richard Myers, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We made some calls, got Ramstein AB Command Post to deliver master sergeant stripes to the crew during a refueling stop, and had a promotion ceremony at 35,000 feet over the Atlantic. Having a 4-star promote her is something she won't ever forget, and her appreciation when she returned made it all worthwhile.

Take care of your people. Simple words with significant impact. Put in the time to do it right and you'll be amazed at the dividends it pays. Recently, I watched as Major Meadows, the 71st Security Force Squadron commander, promoted Airman 1st Class Peter Tripi below-the-zone to Senior Airman. His smile will light up his units for weeks to come!