【中英双语】认可和赏识，缺一不可

Why Employees Need Both Recognition and Appreciation

by Mike Robbins

Recognition and appreciation. We often use these words interchangeably, and think of them as the same thing. But while they're both important, there’s a big difference between them. For leaders who want their teams to thrive and organizations that want to create cultures of engagement, loyalty, and high performance, it's important to understand the distinction.

认可与赏识。我们通常把这些词互换使用，认为它们是同一回事。可是尽管它们均很重要，两者之间还是存在巨大区别。对于希望自己的团队蓬勃发展的领导者以及希望创造敬业、忠诚和高绩效文化的企业而言，了解这种区别十分重要。

Recognition is about giving positive feedback based on results or performance. Sometimes this happens in a formal way: an award, a bonus, a promotion, a raise. Sometimes recognition is given more informally: a verbal thank you, a handwritten note. All of these methods can be meaningful, especially if they're done in a timely and genuine way. They're also motivating and exciting — everyone wants their good work to be applauded.

认可是基于结果或表现而给予正面的反馈。有时这种事情会以正式的形式出现：奖励、奖金、晋级、加薪。有时认可是以更非正式的方式表示的：口头的感谢、手写的便条。所有这些方式都可能很有意义，特别是当它们得到及时、诚恳的实施的时候。它们也能调动积极性、激励人心——人人都希望他们的佳绩得到赞扬。

But there are some limits to recognition. First, it's performance-based, so it's conditional. Second, it's based on the past, so it's about what people have already done. Third, it's scarce. There’s a limited amount of recognition to go around — everyone can't get a bonus or be mentioned by name in a memo — and it can be stressful when many people are vying for a finite amount of praise. Fourth, it generally has to come from the top. Many organizations have set up programs that allow peers to highlight each other’s efforts, but the major forms of recognition (promotions, raises, and so on) usually are given by senior leaders.

可是认可有些局限。首先，它是以表现为基础的，因而是有条件的。其次，它基于过去，所以涉及的是人们已经有何作为。第三，它很稀缺。可以获得的认可数量有限——不是每一个人都能获得奖金或者名载备忘录——而且当许多人争先恐后地去争取有限的赞扬时，压力会非常大。第四，它通常必定来自高层。许多企业已制定了计划，让同事间强调彼此的努力，但是主要的认可形式（晋级、加薪等）通常是由高层领导授予的。

And while recognition that includes monetary compensation can be great, researchers from the London School of Economics found that financial incentives can actually backfire when it comes to motivating employees. According to an analysis of 51 experiments, “these incentives may reduce an employee's natural inclination to complete a task and derive pleasure from doing so.”

尽管包括货币补偿在内的认可可能是件大好事，但是伦敦经济学院的研究人员发现，在调动员工积极性的问题上，金钱刺激实际上可能适得其反。根据对51项实验的分析，“这些激励措施可能会降低员工完成任务并从中得到快乐的自然倾向。”

Appreciation, on the other hand, is about acknowledging a person's inherent value. The point isn't their accomplishments. It's their worth as a colleague and a human being.

另一方面，赏识是对一个人内在价值的承认。重点不是他们的成就，而是他们身为同事或一个人的价值。

In simple terms, recognition is about what people do; appreciation is about who they are.

简单地说，认可涉及人们做了什么；赏识涉及他们是谁。

This distinction matters because recognition and appreciation are given for different reasons. Even when people succeed, inevitably there will be failures and challenges along the way; depending on the project, there may not even be tangible results to point to. If you focus solely on praising positive outcomes, on recognition, you miss out on lots of opportunities to connect with and support your team members — to appreciate them.

这种区别很重要，因为认可和赏识是出于不同原因才给予的。即使人们在获得成功之时，一路上也不可避免地会遇到失败和挑战；根据项目的不同，甚至可能都无法指出具体的成果。如果你仅仅注重表扬积极的成果，只注重认可，那你就错失了与团队成员沟通并支持他们的许多机会——赏识他们。

Oprah Winfrey spoke about this in a powerful way when she gave a commencement speech at Harvard a few years ago:

几年前，奥普拉·温弗里(OprahWinfrey)在哈佛大学毕业典礼上发表演讲时曾有力地提及这一点。

I have to say that the single most important lesson I learned in 25 years talking every single day to people was that there’s a common denominator in our human experience….The common denominator that I found in every single interview is we want to be validated. We want to be understood. I’ve done over 35,000 interviews in my career. And as soon as that camera shuts off, everyone always turns to me and inevitably, in their own way, asks this question: “Was that OK?” I heard it from President Bush. I heard it from President Obama. I’ve heard it from heroes and from housewives. I’ve heard it from victims and perpetrators of crimes. I even heard it from Beyoncé in all of her Beyoncé-ness….[We] all want to know one thing: “Was that OK?” “Did you hear me?” “Do you see me?” “Did what I say mean anything to you?”

我不得不说，我在25年里每天与人交谈中学到的唯一最重要的一课就是，我们人类的经历有一个共同点……我在每一次访谈中发现的共同点是，我们希望得到认可，我们希望得到理解。我在职业生涯中已经进行过35000多次访谈。摄像机一关，每个人总会转向我，不可避免地以他们自己的方式问这个问题：“这样可以吗？”我听布什总统问过，我听奥巴马总统问过，我听英雄和家庭主妇问过，我听受害人和罪犯问过，我甚至听浑身碧昂丝气质的碧昂丝问过……（我们）所有人都希望知道一件事：“这样可以吗？”“你听到我说的话了吗？”“你看到我了吗？”“我说的话对你有意义吗？”

What Oprah was talking about is appreciation. And when we show appreciation to our colleagues, customers, managers, and partners, we're more likely to build trust and connect.

奥普拉所谈论的就是赏识。当我们对我们的同事、客户、管理者、合伙人表达赏识的时候，我们更有可能建立信任和良好关系。

Here are a few simple ways to show appreciation for those around you:

以下是几种对你周围的人表达赏识的简单办法：

Listen. One of the best things you can do for the people you work with is also one of the simplest: Put down your phone, turn away from your computer, and genuinely listen to them.

倾听。你能为与你共事的人做的最好的事情之一也是最简单的事情之一：放下你的电话，离开你的电脑，真诚地倾听他们说话。

Tell people what you value about them. Doing this proactively — not because someone did something great or because you want something from them — is an incredibly powerful gift. It can positively affect how your colleagues feel about themselves, your relationship with them, and the culture of the team.

告诉别人你看重他们身上的什么东西。主动去做这件事——不是因为某人做了了不起的事情，或者因为你对他们有所图——是一份感染力巨大的礼物。它能够积极影响到你同事对自己的感觉、你与他们的关系以及团队文化。

Check in. There’s a quote I like that is often attributed to Teddy Roosevelt: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” No matter who said it, it’s such a great reminder. Check in with the people you work with. Asking how they’re doing (and meaning it) and what they’re challenged by right now can show them that you care.

问安。我很喜欢一句通常认为是泰迪·罗斯福(Teddy Roosevelt)说的话：“直到人们知道你在乎多少，他们才会在乎你知道多少。”不管这话是谁说的，它都是一个极好的提醒。向与你共事的人问安。问问他们工作进展如何（而且是真心问候）以及他们眼下遇到什么挑战可以让他们知道你很在乎他们。

Showing appreciation for employees is especially important if you're a manager. In Glassdoor's Employee Appreciation Survey, 53% of people said feeling more appreciation from their boss would help them stay longer at their company — even though 68% said their boss already shows them enough appreciation. The lesson? More is better.

如果你是一名管理者，对员工表达赏识尤其重要。在Glassdoor的员工赏识调查中，53%的人表示感受到老板的更多赏识有助于他们在公司待得更长久——尽管68%的人表示，他们的老板已经对他们表达了足够的赏识。经验之谈吗？多多益善。

As I discuss in my TEDx talk on this subject, great leaders have to successfully focus on and cultivate both appreciation and recognition. And all of us benefit from understanding this distinction in business (and in life). Recognition is appropriate and necessary when it's earned and deserved. Appreciation, however, is important all the time.

正如我就此话题在TEDx谈话中所探讨的那样，伟大的领导者必须成功地关注并培养赏识与认可。弄清其在商业中（以及生活中）的区别，我们所有人都可以从中受益。在赢得并值得认可的时候，认可是恰当和必要的。然而，赏识自始至终都很重要。

迈克·罗宾斯著有四本书，包括他最近的新书《全身心投入工作》(Bring Your Whole Self to Work)。他是一位广受追捧的演说家和咨询师，在过去的20年里一直与领导者、团队和《财富》(Fortune) 500强企业合作。