Reward, Recognition, and Appreciation in Law Enforcement

Burnout in law enforcement is often fueled by two things: losing our sense of purpose and feeling that our efforts go unnoticed.

Over time, either can wear people down. When both occur together, the impact can be significant. This needs to become a much bigger part of the conversation around wellness and resilience in law enforcement.

Recognition is one of the simplest leadership tools available to us, yet it is routinely underused.

Great leaders notice effort, improvement, professionalism, contribution, and performance. More importantly, they make sure their people know they noticed.

Compensation pays people for doing the job. Recognition and appreciation communicate something different: we see what you are doing, your contribution matters, and you are valuable to this team.

There is a memorable scene in Mad Men in which Peggy Olson confronts her boss, Don Draper, over the lack of recognition she receives for her work. During the conversation, Don reduces their working relationship to a simple transaction: “It’s your job. I give you money, you give me ideas.” When Peggy responds saying that he never says thank you, Don famously replies, “That’s what the money is for!”

In law enforcement, where much of the work is difficult, repetitive, stressful, and often unnoticed, the message of appreciation can carry enormous weight.

Recognition Is a Leadership Responsibility

Recognition should not be treated as an occasional program, annual award, or responsibility belonging only to executive leadership.

Ideally, it should be ingrained in the culture.

Supervisors should recognize their people. Executives should recognize strong performance throughout the organization. Peers should recognize one another. Employees should nominate coworkers for recognition when they see outstanding work.

Strong cultures notice contribution.

And recognition should not be reserved only for extraordinary events. Great leaders also notice the routine work that keeps the organization functioning: good reports, thorough investigations, difficult assignments completed well, professional interactions, follow-up work, training efforts, and the countless responsibilities that rarely receive attention.

Asymmetry of Impact

Imagine you have been with an agency for just 14 months. You arrive at work one day and are told that the deputy chief wants to see you. You nervously make your way to the other side of the building, where the administrative assistant tells you to go in.

The deputy chief comes out from behind her desk, greets you, and introduces you to a major who will be sitting in on the meeting. They are cordial and friendly, but you are still uneasy because you have no idea why you are there.

Everyone sits, and the deputy chief begins: “We just finished reading your report from last week’s arrest, and I wanted to personally tell you what a fantastic job you did. This is exactly what we were hoping for when we brought you into this organization, and frankly, you have exceeded expectations.”

The major echoes the same sentiment.

A conversation like that could light a fire that burns for years. That young officer would likely retell the story to parents, family, colleagues, and anyone else willing to listen. It would become one of those moments remembered for an entire career.

If a conversation like this can be so powerful, why does it happen so rarely?

We call this asymmetry of impact. Asymmetry of Impact is the difference between the relatively small effort required from the leader and the potentially enormous impact that effort can have on the person receiving it.

As leaders move higher in an organization, they can lose sight of how significant these moments may be to the people below them. What feels like a brief, routine interaction to an executive may be unforgettable to the employee. That is what makes recognition such a powerful leadership tool.

A leader may forget the conversation by the end of the day. The employee may remember it for years.

That imbalance is exactly why recognition represents such a high-value leadership opportunity.

Leadership Lift

We call the result of the recognition Leadership Lift.

Leadership Lift occurs when something a leader says or does raises an employee’s confidence, motivation, engagement, pride, or willingness to contribute.

The action itself may be small. The lift it creates may not be.

A sincere acknowledgment can reinforce strong behavior, restore motivation during a difficult period, strengthen an employee’s connection to the organization, or simply remind someone that their work matters.

Great leaders continuously look for opportunities to create that lift.

The Source of Recognition Matters

Not all recognition carries the same weight.

Recognition from a direct supervisor is important because that person sees the employee’s work regularly.

But recognition can become even more meaningful when it comes from someone higher in the organization.

A thank-you from a lieutenant may feel different from one from a sergeant.

Recognition from a captain, chief, director, sheriff, or other senior leader may carry even greater significance because it is less common and communicates that the employee’s contribution has been noticed beyond the immediate work group.

The higher the source of meaningful recognition, the greater its potential symbolic value. That doesn’t necessarily mean rank either. Maybe it comes from a legendary street cop. Maybe it comes from a highly respected detective or a member of the SWAT team.

A Recognition Scale

Several years ago, I wrote a formal commendation for a civilian employee from another agency. She had been incredibly helpful to us on a regular basis and consistently did outstanding work. The recognition was well deserved.

I put the commendation on our letterhead, made it as thoughtful as possible, and sent it to her entire chain of command. I believe at least five members of her organization were copied.

About a week later, she called me to say thank you. She was clearly touched by the letter and genuinely appreciative of the recognition. I asked how she had learned about it.

She paused and said, “Well, that’s another story.”

She explained that she had returned from lunch one day and found the commendation letter sitting face down on her chair. She never even learned who put it there.

What should have been a powerful moment of recognition became something entirely different. She was clearly hurt by the lack of thoughtfulness in how it was presented. An opportunity to lift her, reinforce her value, and strengthen her connection to the organization instead became a source of resentment.

They had taken a great opportunity to raise morale and create a nice moment for her and their team, only to, through careless delivery, lower it.

That is why recognition is not only about what we say or give. How we present it matters.

That moment has stayed with me because it illustrates an important point: recognition is not only about what we say. It is also about how we present it.

Do we do the absolute minimum and simply pass along the recognition, or do we take a few extra minutes to make the moment meaningful? Do we use it as an opportunity to personally acknowledge the employee, reinforce the behaviors we value, and perhaps let others see what outstanding performance looks like?

The recognition itself matters. The delivery matters too. Recognition should match the contribution.

Not every accomplishment requires an award ceremony, but neither should significant accomplishments receive nothing more than a casual “good job.”

One useful way to think about recognition is as a scale.

Level 0 — No Recognition

The employee’s contribution goes unnoticed or unacknowledged. Unfortunately, this is far more common than it should be. See the example above.

Level 1 — Informal Acknowledgment

A simple but sincere thank-you, compliment, text, call, or brief conversation.

Level 2 — Written Recognition

A personal note, email, documented commendation, positive supervisory entry, or written acknowledgment.

Level 3 — Public Recognition

Recognition at roll call, a staff meeting, unit meeting, organizational communication, or other appropriate public setting.

Level 4 — Senior Leadership Recognition

A personal meeting, call, note, or acknowledgement from a senior leader in the organization.

Level 5 — Formal Organizational Recognition

A formal award, commendation, ceremony, presentation, or other significant organizational recognition.

The point is not that every organization must adopt a five-level system. The point is that leaders should think intentionally about whether the level of recognition matches the level of contribution.

The Least We Can Do and the Most We Can Do

Leaders frequently default to the minimum acceptable response. Someone does something exceptional and receives: “Nice job.”

Sometimes that may be appropriate.

But leaders should also ask: What is the most meaningful response we could reasonably provide? (We call this a Leadership Mindset)

The difference between the least we can do and the most we can do is often surprisingly small in terms of time and effort, yet enormous in terms of impact.

Instead of a quick thank-you, perhaps the employee receives a handwritten note. Instead of an email, perhaps the chief stops by personally. Instead of quietly acknowledging the accomplishment, perhaps the employee is recognized in front of peers.

The strongest leaders do not merely ask, “Did we recognize this?”

They ask, “Did we recognize it in a way that reflects what it meant?”

Recognition Should Be Timely, Specific, and Personal

Effective recognition generally has several characteristics.

It is timely. The closer recognition occurs to the behavior or accomplishment, the stronger the connection.

It is specific. “Good job” is nice. Explaining exactly what the employee did well is far more meaningful.

It is personal. Generic recognition rarely carries the same weight as recognition that clearly reflects genuine attention.

And it is authentic. Employees quickly recognize praise that feels forced or formulaic.

Recognition does not need to be elaborate. It does need to be sincere.

Team Time

Recognition is also part of what we call Team Time: the intentional investment of time in the growth, well-being, development, and success of our people. Team time includes researching professional devleopment for our people, holding one-on-one informal meetings, helping them with career development, taking an interest in their families, and, of course, taking the time to put them in for awards and commendations.

Leaders routinely devote enormous amounts of time to operations, meetings, reports, email, policy, budgets, and administrative responsibilities.

But some of their highest-value time may be spent directly with their people.

Checking in.
Listening.
Recognizing strong work.
Supporting someone going through a difficult period.
Helping an employee develop.
Having lunch with personnel.
Making a call after an accomplishment.

These moments communicate something powerful: You matter. Recognition is not separate from leadership. It is one of the ways leaders invest directly in their people.

Leadership Softballs

Some recognition opportunities are what we refer to as Leadership Softballs. The story described above is a perfect example. Instead of placing the commendation letter on the woman’s chair, they could have read it at a meeting. They could have surprised her with the entire command staff inviting her to lunch. Maybe even social media.

These are easy opportunities sitting directly in front of us.

An employee earns a degree. A citizen sends a complimentary email. Someone reaches a career milestone. An officer completes a difficult assignment. An employee receives an outside commendation. A team accomplishes something significant.

These moments require almost no creativity from the leader. The opportunity is already there.

We simply have to notice it and respond. They’re softballs; we can’t afford to miss them.

Missing these opportunities can be particularly damaging because employees often recognize how easy it would have been for leadership to acknowledge them.

Leadership Currency

In government, we will never be able to reward our people with use of the company jet or the sky box. We’ll never be able to offer stock options, and we’ll certainly never be able to offer bonuses.

We need to find other ways of rewarding our people. Recognition is one of them. We refer to this as Leadership Currency.

Leadership currency can include recognition, opportunity, access, visibility, support, development, advocacy, and time.

The question is not whether leaders possess this currency. The question is whether they recognize its value and spend it wisely.

A personal note from a chief costs nothing. An invitation to participate in an important project may cost nothing. Giving someone credit publicly costs nothing.

Yet each can have tremendous value to the recipient.

Recognition Strengthens Culture

Recognition does more than make one employee feel good. It teaches the organization what matters.

When leaders recognize professionalism, teamwork, initiative, improvement, exceptional performance, and contribution, they reinforce the behaviors they want repeated.

Other employees see what is valued.

Recognition therefore becomes part of both culture and accountability. If organizations document only mistakes, failures, discipline, and misconduct, employees receive a distorted message about what leadership notices.

Strong organizations deliberately notice excellence too.

Make Recognition Part of Everyday Leadership

Recognition does not require a large budget. It does not require a committee. And it should not require an annual awards ceremony.

It requires leaders who pay attention.

Notice the good report. Notice the extra effort. Notice the improvement. Notice the employee who consistently helps others. Notice the person who quietly performs at a high level every day.

Then say something, write something, or do something. The opportunity may feel small from the leader’s side of the desk.

For the person receiving it, it may mean far more than we ever realize.

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