Avoiding “Streep Syndrome” in Your Recognition Practices

In my newsfeeds and blog readers, a good headline will often jump out and catch my attention. Soon after the Academy Awards in Hollywood, this headline caught my eye: “Too good to reward? You might just have Streep Syndrome.”

What is “Streep Syndrome?”

“Those who go through it are the go-getters, the ones who bat every assignment out of the park, the ones colleagues always want to work with, but who often find themselves overlooked when it’s time for monthly awards, promotions or end-of-year bonuses.

“They've set such a standard of excellence that managers often don’t think of rewarding them. While compliments from your colleagues and praise from your supervisor are nice, the incentive to work hard can fade quickly without the formal recognition of accolades or promotion.”

There’s much in the article that intrigues me – expectations of high performers become the norm – but also much that I disagree with – recommendations to these go-getters to track their own achievements and self-promote to avoid being passed over.

Does this seem backwards to anyone else? If yours is a company where the exceptional is consistently overlooked, then your company culture is broken.

Instead of focusing solely on “monthly awards, promotions or end-of-year bonuses,” broaden your positive impact on all levels of performers through frequent and timely behavior-based recognition that doesn’t wait to praise and appreciate people for their efforts. Don’t teach your employees to care less, recognize them for caring more when they deliver top-notch results while demonstrating the values you as a company believe important.