Creating Passion-Driven Teams: How to Stop Micromanaging and Motivate People to Top Performance

Chapter 14

Celebrate Achievement

Ruth was at her microscope when Shawn walked up beside her, carrying a yellow piece of paper. “Here you go, Ruth,” he said. “Somebody caught you at your best. Thanks for going the extra mile.”

It took Ruth only a second to realize what Shawn meant. The laboratory at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, had recently started a “caught you at your best” program, which allows any employee to thank or acknowledge other employees for doing exceptional work.

On Ruth’s card was a handwritten note, thanking her for staying after her normal shift and helping out in the chemistry department on a day they were shorthanded, but overloaded with work.

Ruth put the note in her lab coat pocket and almost suppressed ...