I was volunteering at www.nscf.org.au the other day in the backyard garden which has a rooster and two hens in residence.

All of a sudden there was the huge commotion at the chicken coop. The girls and Specky the rooster were furiously clucking and crowing away.

We had thoughts of an invader in the pen about to do them harm.

It wasn’t until I went over there to see what was going on that they stopped. You see, one of the girls had laid an egg and they wanted everyone to know about it. As soon as we recognised their efforts they went back to their normal quiet routine.

It got me thinking how employees will often carry on until someone recognises their efforts then quietly go back to their work afterwards. I don’t think it is a lot to ask of a leader to do that. Just as those of us at the farm benefit from eating the beautiful fresh eggs the chickens produce, leaders benefit from the efforts of their team. Don’t make the mistake of taking people for granted or you could find they get stressed and stop producing, not unlike a stressed backyard hen.

So who in your workplace has been crowing and clucking lately, looking for some recognition?

Tags: Employee Communication, Employee morale, employee recognition, Leadership and management, Leadership skills