What if one of the most powerful things you could do for your business did not cost a dime?
I’m not talking about new software, a new benefits program, or some big company initiative. I’m talking about something quick, easy, and free you can start doing today: recognizing people for their great work.
Recognition does not have to be complicated. It can be as simple as saying thank you, giving genuine praise, calling out a job well done, or taking a moment to tell someone, “I saw what you did, and it mattered.”
It costs nothing. It takes very little time. And too many leaders do not do it nearly enough.
The Pattern I Keep Hearing
I’ve been asking people about their best and worst bosses. The stories are different, but the pattern is almost always the same.
The best bosses make people feel seen, heard, and valued. They believe in their people. They listen. They set clear expectations. They hold people accountable. Under their best boss, people do not simply show up. They take ownership. They solve problems. They go above and beyond.
The worst bosses do the opposite. They do not take the time to listen. They give orders. They react when something is not done right, rather than taking the time to understand why. Under their worst boss, people may still do the job and even do it well, but they usually stop giving their best.
I’ve lived on both sides of this.
I had the privilege of working for an amazing leader. He believed in me, listened to me, and made me feel valued and heard. Together, we achieved 770% growth and added 10 months of working capital. I achieved way more than I thought I was capable of.
I also worked for someone who had no interest in hearing what I had to say. She expected me to do exactly as I was told. It was her way or the highway. Under her, I did my job well, but I never went above and beyond. I did what I had to do and nothing more.
Same person. Completely different results. That is the part that too many leaders underestimate. Your leadership deeply impacts how much energy, ownership, problem-solving, and care your people bring to the business.
It Starts with Right People, Right Seats
In EOS, this starts with getting the Right People in the Right Seats.
- Right People share your Core Values.
- Right Seats mean they Get it, Want it, and have the Capacity to do it.
When someone is in the Right Seat, the work fits. They understand the role. They want the role. They have the ability, time, knowledge, and emotional capacity to do the job well.
When someone is in the wrong seat, it does not matter how talented they are. It is like asking a right-handed person to write with their left hand all day. They can do it for a while. They might even make it look fine. But over time, it drains them in a way that creates frustration for them and for you.
That is why the Accountability Chart matters. It provides clarity on the right structure, the major roles for each seat, and who is accountable for what. Once the structure is clear, you can honestly ask whether each person is the Right Person in the Right Seat.
You owe it to your people and to your business to get that right.
Then Create an Environment Where People Can Thrive
Once you have the Right People in the Right Seats, your next job is to create an environment where they can thrive.
Think about a plant:
Give it rich soil, the right amount of water, and enough sunlight, and it grows beautifully. It becomes what it was meant to be. Put that same plant in the wrong soil, deny it what it needs, and it withers. It never reaches its potential.
People are not plants, but the lesson applies.
The environment a leader creates matters.
People do their best work when they know where the company is going, what matters most, what seat they sit in, what they are accountable for, and how success is measured.
They also need a leader who is paying attention. Someone who notices when they are living the Core Values, recognizes the behavior, and tells the truth when something is not working.
That is the balance great leaders and managers bring. They care about their people, and they hold a high standard. They listen, give praise when it is earned, and address issues directly when something needs to change.
Recognition Brings Core Values to Life
Recognition is most powerful when it is specific.
A quick “great job” is nice, but it does not always tell someone what they did right or why it mattered. The more powerful version is to say what you saw, connect it to a Core Value, and explain the impact.
For example:
“When you stayed with that customer issue until it was solved, you really lived our Core Value of Help First. That protected the relationship and showed the team what ownership looks like.”
That kind of recognition does more than make one person feel good. It helps everyone understand what great looks like.
Over time, people start to see what your Core Values actually mean in real life. They notice the behaviors that matter. They hear the language repeated. They begin to recognize those behaviors in themselves and in each other.
That is how Core Values move from words on a wall to something people can see, say, and live.
And that is how culture gets stronger.
Make It Part of the Way You Lead
Recognition in the moment matters. And if you want it to become part of your leadership, not just something you remember to do once in a while, build it into your conversations.
In EOS, one way to do that is through the Quarterly Conversation.
The Quarterly Conversation is not a performance review. It is an informal, relational, one-on-one conversation between a leader and a direct report every 90 days. It gives both people a chance to step back, talk about what is working and what is not, and strengthen the relationship.
The 5-5-5 helps keep that conversation focused on what matters: Core Values, roles, and Rocks.
It creates space to ask better questions, listen more closely, give honest feedback, and recognize the person in a meaningful way. Not generic praise. Not a quick “great job” on your way to the next meeting. Real praise that lets someone know you actually see them.
When leaders do this consistently, something shifts. People feel seen, valued, and clear about what matters. They are far more likely to take ownership, solve problems, and bring their best to the business.
It Starts With How You Lead
One of the most powerful things you can do as a leader costs nothing. It is the choice to pay attention, to listen, to tell the truth, and to recognize people when they are living your Core Values and doing great work.
When people feel seen, clear, and accountable, they bring more of themselves to the work. They take more ownership, solve more problems, and often become more than they thought they could be. That is good for them, good for the team, and good for the business.
Are you creating an environment where your people are truly thriving?
Schedule a free 90-Minute Meeting to learn how EOS can help your leadership team get more from your people and your bus
Great leadership teams have the courage to face and solve their issues.
Most leaders know exactly what issue is holding them back. Maybe it’s the highest grossing salesperson who’s destroying the culture. Maybe it’s your partner who hasn’t pulled her weight in years. Maybe it’s a loyal employee who has been with the business since the beginning, but the job outgrew him.
You just don’t want to deal with that issue. Because it means you don’t want to risk losing a high-performing team member, hurting someone, or having that tough conversation.
So, you wait. Maybe you try a temporary solution. You wrap duct tape and twine around the problem. But it doesn’t go away. Instead, the issue grows. Good people get frustrated and leave. Trust erodes. And the culture suffers.
What Took You So Long?
I had a client whose top salesperson was a rock star but terrible for the culture. She was very negative, fiercely competitive in all the wrong ways, and she refused to help anybody. A classic Wrong Person, Right Seat situation.
The CEO knew it, but he couldn’t bring himself to act. He was afraid he’d never find someone who could sell like her. So, he waited around to see if the problem would work itself out somehow. And while he did, he lost three other salespeople who were tired of the drama.
He finally realized that no one person is worth the entire team and found the courage to act. When he let her go, almost everyone said: “What took you so long?”
A year later, no single person matched her individual numbers. But as a team, overall sales grew 30%.
Related Reading: How to Get the Right People in the Right Seats
If You’re Serious About Results
Great leaders care deeply and act courageously. Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s the ability to take action in spite of it.
EOS offers the Ten Commandments to help leaders solve issues. The second commandment is “Thou Shalt Not Be a Weenie.” The solution to most issues is simple. It’s just not easy. It requires a strong will, a firm resolve, and the willingness to make the tough decision even when everything in you wants to wait a little longer. In other words, it requires courage.
The eighth commandment is “Thou Shalt Choose Short-Term Pain and Suffering.” There is no pain-free option, but long-term pain is always worse.
My client avoided one difficult decision and lost three salespeople. It just goes to show that issues are like mushrooms. If you ignore them, they multiply and grow.
One leader recently told me that he was avoiding a very tough issue because he didn’t want to be perceived as being like the mean boss his father had always complained about. I jokingly called him a weenie. That really got him thinking.
He realized dealing with the issue wasn’t being a mean boss. It was being a true leader.
Two Courage-Building EOS Tools
Two EOS Tools exist to help teams solve issues.
- First: the Issues List, a simple EOS Tool that creates the discipline and safety for people to get issues out in the open where they can be solved.
- Next, we teach teams how to solve issues using a process called the Issues Solving Track, or IDS: Identify, Discuss, Solve.
Identify is the crucial first step. When facing an issue, most teams move right to Discuss. If they don’t pinpoint the root cause, the issue keeps coming back. It’s like weeds in your garden. You can mow them down every Sunday morning. But they keep coming back because you’re cutting the tops off, not pulling them out by the root.
A popular design thinking quote of unknown origin (often associated with Albert Einstein) states, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about the solutions.”
So once the real issue is Identified, Discuss it honestly. Then you Solve it with a clear decision and a person who is accountable to execute.
Don’t Wait Any Longer
Every issue you are not solving is growing. It’s stopping you and your team from reaching your potential.
The longer you wait, the bigger the issue gets and the more it costs you. In time, in money, in energy, in good people, and in missed opportunity.
As Gino Wickman says: “Your ability to succeed is in direct proportion to your ability to solve your problems.”
So, what is the big issue you’ve been avoiding? And what would you do if you weren’t afraid?
Many leaders spend months or even years stepping around an issue they know needs attention. A fresh perspective can help you see things for what they really are and create momentum toward a resolution.
A free EOS 90-Minute Meeting gives you the opportunity to step away from the day-to-day and evaluate your business with an EOS Implementer. Together, you’ll look at what’s working, what’s getting in the way, and whether EOS could help your team gain true traction. There’s no obligation, just a chance to see your business from a different angle and determine your next steps.
