The Need for R & R - Reward and Responsibility

R&R, in HR parlance (also understood beyond the fraternity) means Reward and Recognition.  It refers to recognizing (non-monetary means) and rewarding (monetary means), or both, the contribution of employees at all levels. The method of rewarding and recognizing such contribution varies from organization to organization.  

There is the stated expectation from the management i.e. leadership is that such R & R will "motivate" employees to put in more effort and contribute more productively in their roles. An unspoken hope in in the mind of the management is also that the employee will now take on additional responsibility without an increase in their compensation and/or change in grade.

Pic credit: pexels-cottonbro-3826576

In reality, these hopes rarely met sufficient or effective results.  Why? There are a number of reasons for this, and I'd recommend the book "Punished By Rewards" by Alfie Kohn for a brilliantly lucid perspective on this.  
Furthermore, this approach to Rewards and Recognition has led to problems when we try to find leaders from within the organization based on "past performance and rewards" alone.  There's a strong need to include a Potential Assessment along with regular Career Development Conversations within this process, but not every organization is keen on investing time and resources in this intervention, though they understand the benefits.  This state of affairs is compounded by the adoption of AI over the past few years, which has disrupted everyone's thinking about careers.

Here's what I propose for the organization's search for it's next leaders..

What if we shifted this Rewards and Recognition nomenclature to

R&R - Rewards and Responsibility?

Here's the inspiration for my article - an excerpt from Patrick Leddin's newsletter where he is in conversation with Patrick Lencioni (author of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team)

"During our conversation, we explored why people so often step away from the most important parts of leadership once things get difficult. Pat explained that it frequently comes down to motive.

Some people are reward-centered. They step forward because of what leadership gives them: recognition, control, influence, or the feeling that they have finally arrived. Leadership becomes a position or a prize.

Others are responsibility-centered. They see leadership as, in Pat’s words, a “huge and overwhelming responsibility.” These people understand that stepping forward means taking on the hardest work first. That work shows up in many forms: developing others, having honest conversations, making decisions that are uncomfortable, communicating more than feels necessary, and staying present when things get messy.

None of that work is glamorous. It takes energy, patience, and consistency. You cannot fake it. You cannot outsource it. And you cannot ignore it without consequences."

So, what would Reward and Responsibility mean, if we consider the above context? 

1. It would mean that we are communicating to our people (particularly those with the promotion itch) that "you are being rewarded not just because of your contribution in the past, but also because we see potential in in you and expect you to step up to future responsibilities as proactively as you can within all the constraints in your way". 
2. It would mean that you are now among various other top performing employees in preferential (fast track)contention for further roles in the organization's growth story. 

Quite a few large organizations do have an effective Fast Track growth path for key performers.  In these fast track growth paths, employees are explicitly told what roles they are being considered for.  They are put into special development paths.  For eg. at the start of a senior leadership program I was conducting for a large organization, the C-suite leader set the context for the two days, explicitly conveying to the participants what some of the future growth plans of the organization were, and how there was a need for more leaders, reiterating that this training was one of the opportunities being provided to the participants to step up into regional leadership roles.

If you feel that that you are leadership material, and leadership roles are all about the recognition, control, influence as mentioned above, then also be aware that the other points of developing others, honest (and difficult) conversations of all types and tough decisions and so on mentioned above are also a major part of the your leadership role.

Serious about to work on developing, enhancing and showcasing your leadership capability to meet future leadership needs? Write to me at ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com or call on +919820155778 so we can schedule a discussion.

Disclaimer - I don't get compensated for mentioning Alfie Kohn's book or Patrick Leddin's newsletter.  I like sharing useful and thought-provoking information with my readers.