Toby Miller is your picture of an all round good guy. He doesn’t even consider himself to be much of a star but he does enjoy going to work and he enjoys mixing with his co-workers, making sure that they all smile at least once a day. Of course he does what’s necessary to get results but, under normal circumstances, he usually slips under the recognition awards radar that sweeps through the department once a month.
Many reward and recognition systems have incorporated a “wooden spoon” award in the past. The purpose of this was to highlight poor performance in the mistaken belief that it would, somehow, act as a deterrent to people. They were supposed to look upon the wooden spoon as a shameful emblem that they would want to avoid at any cost. Unfortunately this overlooks the deep psychological reasoning for poor performance in the workplace.
Some people live troubled lives. They find it difficult to excel at anything they do. This does not prevent them from wishing that the limelight would fall on them occasionally. They discover that they can get the attention that they crave by underperforming. Many management hours around the world are...