Corporations love recognising and awarding great performance! It is one of the mechanisms to keep employees satisfied and motivated, and having recognition schemes in place is a very good practice. High achievers who have gone above and beyond what’s expected of them get their time in the spotlight and sometimes a monetary prize, and so they feel proud and awarded for what they’ve done. This is all good!

Given that Corporate Bohemians are typically intelligent and curious to step outside of their comfort zone and work scope, they are usually amongst those who get awarded. The latter is good for their corporate image and personal brand, it makes them popular and creates more opportunities to grow, develop and become more and more independent.

However, even though recognition awards are undoubtedly a good practice, they are only designed to spotlight great performance. What happens to poor performance then? How come we never spotlight that!? Indeed, there is a separate Performance Management process in each Corporation designed to capture bad feedback and address poor performance. But it’s all too secretive and therefore NO FUN.

In filmmaking, you can get an Oscar, but you can also get a Golden Raspberry (Razzie) if you fail big time! There is no harm in getting an “award” for job done poorly. It does require high self-esteem and sense of humour to have a good laugh about what happened, consider the reasons, decide what actions to take and move on.  And that’s completely in line with the behaviours successful corporate people should be able to demonstrate. So why not introduce Corporate Razzies?

The reality is Corporations can’t do that for a number of valid reasons. They can’t put in place formal policies and processes that humiliate people. This can only be done informally, in an appropriate manner and safe environment where employees won’t feel humiliated. Corporate culture has its complexities.

In any case, Recognition (in whatever shape or form) is part of the culture in all Corporations. Presumably as a Corporate Bohemian you work hard, make connections, take risks and sometimes get Recognition awards. Here are some ideas on how to receive these gracefully:

• Welcome recognition, regardless if you get a shiny Oscar or a sad humiliating equivalent of a Corporate Razzie.
• Thank people. You know who – just look up, down and sideways.
• Make sure the Communications teams have your great stylish corporate photo. The best way to get such photo is to use a helping hand from your bohemian friend circles. You surely know many photographers, and you will feel who the one to take your portrait is. Take him/her to your office on a Sunday when you will be alone, relax and trust, and let him/her do the magic.
• Give interviews for the Corporate newsletters when asked, but be careful to keep the balance and not appear too often on different articles/pages.
• You will face envy. DISREGARD. You always face envy anyway, as people are jealous of your style, lifestyle and productive work style. DO DISREGARD.

In conclusion, don’t forget to give Recognition too! Award others with Oscars in your own charming bohemian manner, and don’t spare those who deserve the Golden Raspberries. You know how to give Razzies within the boundaries of corporate culture, so put your slightly cynical bohemian hat on, be as creative as you want, and have fun!