Give Them the Credit

Don't Give Them the Answer — Post 7 of the Growing Leaders Series

Some of the most meaningful recognition we receive in life comes when we aren't expecting it.

I remember an experience during my time with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment that has stayed with me for more than three decades.

I was an E-5 Sergeant, and our platoon had an E-6 Staff Sergeant who was promotable. He had recently arrived from Green Platoon and hadn't yet completed his mission qualification.

Our Shop Sergeant and First Sergeant had entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as the platoon's NCOIC (Noncommissioned Officer in Charge).

During a promotion board, I went in to represent the platoon. The Sergeant Major looked at me and asked why I was there.

I explained that I was the NCOIC.

He questioned why an E-5 was serving in that position when an E-6 promotable was assigned to the platoon.

I explained that the Staff Sergeant was new to the team and hadn't yet become mission qualified. Our Shop Sergeant and First Sergeant had trusted me with the responsibility because of my experience and qualifications.

The Sergeant Major was impressed. He made a point of communicating that to both my Shop Sergeant and First Sergeant.

I still remember that moment more than thirty years later.

Not because I was looking for recognition. I was simply doing the job I'd been trusted to do.

But looking back, I realize there were two important leadership lessons in that experience.

My Shop Sergeant and First Sergeant recognized my readiness and trusted me with responsibility beyond what someone might have expected from my rank. Then the Sergeant Major recognized that decision and took the time to acknowledge it.

One group of leaders gave me the opportunity. Another leader made sure the recognition was heard.

Both mattered.

And both helped reinforce something I've carried throughout my career:

Leadership isn't always about the rank on your collar or the title on your door. It's about the trust you've earned and the responsibility you're prepared to carry.

Recognition That Builds Leaders

Throughout my professional career, I've had the opportunity to work with some incredibly talented people. As a CFO and COO, I'm ultimately responsible for a wide range of operations, but the success of those operations depends on the people who lead and manage them every day.

They're the ones solving problems, managing relationships, making decisions, and keeping things moving.

Yet when an initiative succeeds, recognition often flows toward the person with the senior title.

I've been on the receiving end of that recognition, and I've learned to be more intentional about redirecting it toward the people who earned it.

Sometimes that means simply saying:

"Thank you, but let me tell you who really made that happen."

Then making sure the right person gets recognized.

President Harry Truman is often credited with saying:

"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."

I've always appreciated the principle behind that statement.

Leadership isn't a competition for recognition. Our success should be measured, in part, by the success of the people we're developing.

And recognition doesn't have to be a grand public announcement. Sometimes it's a conversation, a handwritten note, or a few sincere words shared with someone whose work might otherwise go unnoticed.

The important thing is that it's genuine and specific.

Not simply, "Great job."

But explaining what they did well, why it mattered, and how their contribution made a difference.

Because when people know their work matters, something happens.

Confidence grows. Ownership deepens. And they're more willing to step forward when the next opportunity comes.

Recognition Is a Leadership Responsibility

Proverbs 27:2 reminds us:

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."

I've always appreciated the humility behind that verse. We shouldn't need to promote ourselves at every opportunity.

But as leaders, we have an opportunity—and I believe a responsibility—to recognize the contributions of others.

That experience in the Army taught me something I've carried into my leadership today.

The Sergeant Major didn't have to say anything to my leadership. He could have simply acknowledged my explanation and moved on.

But he took the time.

And more than three decades later, I still remember it.

That makes me wonder how many opportunities I've had throughout my career to do the same for someone else.

How many times have I noticed someone doing exceptional work but failed to tell them?

How often have I appreciated someone's contributions without making sure they knew it?

Those are questions worth asking.

Because sometimes the recognition we give someone today becomes the confidence they carry for years.

A Question for Leaders

Think about the people on your team.

Who has stepped up beyond what's expected?

Who has quietly taken responsibility, solved a difficult problem, or demonstrated leadership without being asked?

And perhaps most importantly:

Have you made sure they know you've noticed?

I'm trying to be more intentional about that in my own leadership.

Not because recognition is another task on a leadership checklist, but because I know firsthand how meaningful it can be.

I still remember a Sergeant Major who recognized an E-5 entrusted with leading a platoon.

He probably forgot that conversation long ago.

I never did.

The recognition we remember decades later is often the recognition we never asked for.

Give people the opportunity to earn your trust. Give them room to demonstrate their abilities. And when they succeed, make sure their contributions don't go unnoticed.

Don't just celebrate the accomplishment. Recognize the person who made it possible.

Don't just solve the problem. Grow the person.

Go Be The Reason.