The Leadership Skill Behind Meaningful Recognition

Every year at Anthem Engineering, we give every employee a personalized gift. 

We also recognize five- and ten-year milestones with something meaningful. This year I hit ten years and the company gifted me flight lessons! Since I already jump out of planes, I guess the next logical step was, “Why not let Joe fly the plane too?” For my annual gift, I also received a fancy business card holder.  

But the gifts themselves aren’t the point. It’s the intention behind them.

In many organizations, recognition becomes a program: generic, predictable, and handed out in identical boxes. Worse, when appreciation becomes generic, it often feels like a transactional obligation. A sign the company doesn't actually know its people. It stops feeling like appreciation.

What actually strengthens culture is something far simpler: a leader who knows their people well enough to make recognition feel personal. Not performative. Personal.

This requires a leader who notices the small things. Understands what truly motivates someone. Knows what they value outside of work. Can confidently say, “I saw this, I remembered, and it mattered enough to act on.”

You cannot outsource that to HR. You cannot automate it. You cannot fix weak recognition with a new perk or software platform. Personalized appreciation is a leadership capability.

When managers are trained to practice it consistently, people feel seen. Trust increases. Engagement rises. Retention stabilizes. And culture becomes something you build through everyday behaviors, not something you announce once a year.

The gifts at Anthem Engineering are a small part of a much larger picture. They reflect something every organization should aim for: leaders who take the time to know their people and honor them in ways that feel real. 

People don’t stay because of perks. They stay because they feel valued.