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Leaders guide the way in most organizations, and hitching your recognition initiatives to your leaders can be a powerful influencer.

However, it would be helpful if you provided a lot of education, communication and preparation for your leaders first. Did you know that 70% of managers have either received no people-management training or their training was capped at four hours?

Are you starting a new management or leadership position? When I first started working as a manager three decades ago, I remember that there were many tasks to perform and little instruction on how to lead, engage and recognize my staff.

Over the years I have gained many insights and created a guide with six tips to maintain positive relationships with my employees as a leader. Below are those things I wish I knew about recognition as a first-time manager:

Employee Appreciation Day originated more than 25 years ago. Its founder, Dr. Bob Nelson, created it to help managers acknowledge their employees and show them how valued they are at least once a year. After being celebrated for more than two decades in the workplace, the real question is, should Employee Appreciation Day be much different than any other day?

Our hope is that your organization has the leadership and engagement of senior leaders, managers and staff to drive recognition practices and programs. But the reality is not every organization is fortunate to have a strong team that helps initiatives or programs move forward and progress in innovative ways.

It’s important to note that when I refer to leadership, it’s not about a title. A leader is someone who can take the lead in something like employee recognition and then show others how to follow.