A few weeks ago, I posted the first in these series of blogs, showcasing Barry-Wehmiller’s hallmark recognition program. Our Guiding Principles of Leadership SSR Award celebrates team members whose thoughts, words and actions embody our people-centric culture.
These are elaborate ceremonies. The recipients don’t know they are chosen until it is revealed during the event. Often they are very emotional. The idea came to me after I visited one of our facilities in northern Wisconsin. Someone said to me, “You know Bob, you come here and you talk about these Guiding Principles of Leadership and we all feel good and then you leave and our normal behavior drifts back in. Isn’t there something we can do to stay inspired?”
I owned a unique car at the time, a Chevy SSR, which is a kind of People have a profound need to feel their life matters. Click To Tweetretro hot rod. So I came up with the idea of using cars as a recognition reward. Team members nominate fellow team members who they believe embody our leadership principles and winners are chosen by fellow team members from those nominees. Winners are then awarded the car to drive for a week in a ceremony when their family is present and they are surprised by the award and the family. We now have a whole fleet of different kinds of cars used throughout our companies around the world in these recognition ceremonies.
When I talk to the recipients of the award, many of them say the same thing. They can’t believe they won. They call their spouse, but the first person they take for a ride is their mother. Whether the winners are men or women, they all say they want to take their mother for a ride. Because they want the person who is the source of their goodness to know they turned out alright.
At Barry-Wehmiller, we are constantly looking for the goodness in people, holding up positive behavior and not focusing on the negative. People have a profound need to feel their life matters. And we want to make sure they know they do.
Here are a few more faces of Truly Human Leadership:
-
-
Ginie Holochwost, Recruiter, BW Papersystems (Hunt Valley, MD)
“As Recruiter for MWU Baltimore I often introduce candidates to the BW culture,” Ginie said. “Talking about it is great and I have no trouble finding enthusiasm in discussing the accomplishments of our team members. But nothing really compares to attending the presentation and getting excited to find out who is being recognized only to see a familiar face of a family member step out of the background. The realization that I had won was exhilarating. But that was only the beginning. “After driving off with the car the real fun began. Everywhere I went people were stopping me to ask about the car… stop lights, parking lots, drive thru… each time I told the story of how I received the car I got to relive the excitement of winning. The best moment came when I went to pick up my nephew for our monthly weekend. As I got out of the car with great excitement he said to me ‘Aunt Ginie, do we get to ride in the Hot Wheels today?’ The look on his face was priceless. Instead of our normal activities he asked if we could drive around to his friends/cousins so they could see him in the car. And I got to tell the story of how I won several more times that day. “Winning the car is great but ultimately this recognition is about so much more than that. The feeling lasts so much longer than the car, I still have neighbors talking about it. My family and friends know I work for a company that appreciates me and values me. And now I get excited for each new winner because I know what is in store for them.”
-
-
Deann Sager, Sales Associate, Accraply (Salem, IL)
“I was certainly surprised about the award,” Deann said. “Throughout my working career, it’s the only time I’ve received an award like it. It’s so nice to know that someone took the time and effort to nominate and select me.”
-
-
Bob Milne, Electrical Engineer, BW Container Systems (Lynchburg, VA)
Some of the comments about Bob were: “He inspires me every day with his efforts and attitude”, “His positive attitude rubs off on everyone around him which fosters a welcoming environment where individuals can have a meaningful role within the group”, and “He is dedicated to his work and family and is a pleasure to work with.” “I work with a great group of people in Lynchburg who make work fun, enjoyable, and fulfilling,” Bob said. “It was a true honor to be recognized by them as a steward of the GPL this past year.”
-
-
Dave Gillings, Sales Coordinator, PCMC (Plymouth, UK)
“It was a real surprise and an honor to receive the GPL award,” Dave said. “It’s great to think that my colleagues valued me enough to nominate me and share positive comments about my contributions to the team. I enjoyed having my family present so that we could celebrate this event together.”
-
-
Debbie Bogdanovic, Communications Specialist, BW Papersystems (Phillips, WI)
Debbie’s peers said she “treats everyone with a grace and kindness that serves as a shining example of how to live a life.” “The emotion and excitement you feel when they call your name as a winner of the SSR is like no other,” Deb said. “Your heart starts racing and you become speechless knowing that your peers recognized you for the extraordinary job you do every day. It’s a heartfelt, humbling moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. It truly makes you smile.”
-
-
Marty Moore, CFO, Baldwin Technologies (St. Louis, MO)
“The most humbling thing about receiving the SSR award is the amount of time and effort that other leaders spend in preparing a thoughtful and meaningful ceremony for you,” Marty said. “The way the organization treated my family on that day, and the pride my kids had in telling their friends ‘look at the corvette my dad won at work.’ It was a tremendously fun week of celebration and I cherish the memories and hope to live up the stature of the recognition.”
-
-
Anthony Cafardi, Principal Engineer, PneumaticScaleAngelus (Stow, OH)
From his colleagues: “(Anthony) allows his peers to play meaningful roles by implementing his peers ideas and recommendations to his projects. Anthony celebrates the meaningful role of others by expressing confidence in an individual ability to meet or exceed expectations, also by encouraging others to voice their concerns and constructive criticism. He adds value to every day.” “Receiving the SSR award was truly a proud and special moment for me to realize my contributions made such a positive impact on so many team members,” Anthony said. “It was extraordinarily touching to be able to share the special moment with my loving family who showed up to surprise me.”
2 Comments
This award is like no other. As a previous recipient of the award I can say that the process is one of the things that make it special. Peer recognition and having your family along side of you while you are honored gives you the greatest feeling of accomplishment.
I love the stories and photos that ground the SSR practice in real people, Bob! I’m going to share it with a new CST group this week.