Name the contribution you want to see and Meaning Factcheck Usage

Name the contribution you want to see and recognize it the moment it appears. It sounds simple, right? But this is one of those deceptively powerful leadership principles that completely flips the script on how we manage people. Instead of waiting for the annual review, you’re catching people doing things right. In real-time.

Table of Contents

• Meaning
• Explanation
• Origin & Factcheck
• Context
• Usage Examples
• FAQ

Meaning

At its core, this is about proactive, specific, and immediate reinforcement. You’re not just hoping for good behavior; you’re actively looking for a specific action and celebrating it the instant you see it.

Explanation

Let me break down why this works so well, because it’s a game-changer. Most of us, we manage by exception. We notice what’s wrong. This principle forces you to flip that. You first decide, “Okay, what specific contribution do I need from my team right now?” Maybe it’s proactive communication, or helping a colleague, or just double-checking their work.

Then, you watch for it. And the moment you see it—and this is the critical part—you name it and recognize it. Right then. Not in a week. The psychological impact is huge. You’re not just giving a generic “good job.” You’re connecting the reward directly to the specific action you asked for, which makes that person—and everyone watching—infinitely more likely to repeat it. It’s about shaping the culture you want, one specific, timely acknowledgment at a time.

Quote Summary

Origin & Factcheck

This gem comes from the 1993 book The Leader In You, published in the US. While it carries the Dale Carnegie & Associates branding, it was actually penned by Stuart R. Levine and Michael A. Crom. They were building directly on Carnegie’s foundational human relations principles, so it’s very much in the true spirit of his work, even if it’s not a direct quote from Dale himself.

Attribution Summary

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