"Police officers put the badge on every morning, not knowing for sure if they'll come home at night to take it off."
~Tom Cotton

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The how's and why's of handing out kudos

Sean commented on the most recent DPW Kudos post, "Sorry I disagree: was this done on a weekend with out O/T, was it done for free, Did Ray himself do it, {Kudos not} doing the job they are paid for yes."

His comment raises a good question: Should we be recognizing someone who is just doing their job?

It depends.

In this situation, I felt that the DPW reacted quickly to an out of the ordinary situation. This may be town land, but it is a remote parcel that is rarely visited by the general public. Although there may be someone responsible for collecting trash from various locations, they probably have a routine (barrels at the parks, trash along the roads, etc.) that doesn't include visiting every conservation parcel (and there are many).

Moreover, I noted in a prior kudos post that, "Having served on the conservation commission, I know from experience that public service is a thankless job. Which is why I started handing out kudos." I agree that an excess of praise for just doing the job is unwarranted, but on occasion, a simple pat on the back is appropriate and often appreciated.

Finally, in the original kudos post, I wrote, "Credit needs to be given where credit is due. So, beginning with this post, I'm going to give praise on a regular basis to those deserving of it." There are a lot of individuals and organizations - paid and volunteer - who do a lot for our town, but so much goes unnoticed.

For example, the 300 Committee. Or George Morse.

No comments: