In sport (and sport business), we live and breathe performance. We crave medals, split-second improvements, big wins, signed contracts and renewed sponsors. We want ticket sales, revenue growth and engagement metrics.
So, whether you’re an athlete, coach, marketing director or general manager, the pressure to deliver is relentless. High-performance culture is the backbone of modern sport … and for good reason.
But in the rush to reward performance, we often forget a critical part of the equation: recognizing the effort and unseen work ethic needed to generate performance. We see outcomes and visible hustle.
What’s not always felt by employees is the warmth (or nod-of-the-head recognition) of feeling valued. Of knowing extreme effort mattered. Especially when the work is done behind the scenes.
Enter the concept of strategic recognition, a deceptively simple leadership tool, a secret weapon rarely deployed with the precision and intent it deserves. This is particularly true in the sport vertical, where burnout, departmental turnover and disengagement loom large.
Performance-Obsessed, Recognition-Blind
Christopher Littlefield, author and founder of Beyond Thank You, specializes in employee appreciation and workplace culture. He’s worked with clients ranging from the United Nations to Fortune 500 companies, helping leaders understand how small, meaningful acts of acknowledgment can profoundly shape performance and retention.
His central insight is deceptively simple: Compensation is not the same as feeling valued. One satisfies a contract; call it a business arrangement. The other meets a core human need.
This matters more than most sport executives realize. In sport, we’re fond of saying we “reward great effort, not just results.” But do we really?
What about the logistics manager who quietly pulled off a 12-city preseason tour without a hiccup? The community coordinator who rebuilt trust with fans after a scandal? The sports scientist who adjusted an athlete’s program, preventing a season-ending injury no one will ever know about?
Too often, leaders are blind to this invisible work. And the consequences are brutal.
As Littlefield observes, unnoticed effort can fuel disengagement, which leads to departure. In sport organizations, where cultures are often lean, fast-moving and emotionally charged, this spiral happens quickly and expensively.
Data Doesn’t Lie
Interestingly, the numbers back it up. A Gallup study found 41% lower absenteeism in workplaces with strong recognition cultures. Deloitte surveyed workers about what they wanted most to support day-to-day performance: 84% just wanted a “thank you.” Not a bonus. Not a promotion. Just acknowledgment.
And yet, most people report feeling uncomfortable receiving praise, which means they’re also less likely to give it. Worse, around 70% of workers have never been trained in how to give or receive recognition effectively.
That tension—the desire to be recognized and the discomfort in handing out compliments—was brought to life in a now-famous social experiment.
During rush hour on the Boston subway, Littlefield struck up a conversation with the person seated next to him about workplace recognition. He asked: What kind of recognition do you want at work? The discussion drew in more people. He kept going. In all, he interviewed 400 people. Only three declined to answer suggesting this topic matters to people.
Most had strong opinions about what recognition should look like—but also admitted they found it awkward or unnatural. Many noted that recognition is rare, often generic, and, when it comes, stripped of context. It feels performative, even insincere.
But the fact nearly everyone he asked wanted to talk about it says something powerful: People want to be seen. In many organizations, including those in sport, they aren’t.
Sweat the Small Stuff
In high-performance sport environments, there’s an unspoken rule: If you need to be thanked, you’re not tough enough. Leaders shrug off emotional labour as soft or distracting. They reward “clutch” players, not culture carriers.
But hear us clearly. That mindset costs your organization more than you think.
What could it look like in sport?
Two minutes in a team huddle to highlight an analyst whose insights led to a win. A shout-out in a board meeting to the venue ops team for delivering a seamless fan experience. A department meeting where the boss asks, “Who hasn’t been seen this week? How do we fix that?”
The best sport leaders make time for what they value and reward. If you don’t showcase appreciation, we shouldn’t be surprised when key people walk out the door. Or worse, they stay and check out.
Decouple Rewards and Recognition
Here’s the kicker: Recognition is not the same as rewards and awards.
Rewards (bonuses, trophies, promotions) are for extraordinary performance. They’re important, but infrequent and often political. Recognition, on the other hand, should be frequent, specific and personal.
Granted, the corporate or entrepreneurial workplace is not the same as helping lead your team to a Super Bowl or World Series victory. Still, when leaders decouple recognition from formal reward systems, they reinforce values, build trust and spark discretionary effort. A well-timed moment of appreciation isn’t fluff; it’s strategic fuel. It’s how leaders remind their teams: I see you. You matter. Keep going.
Sport is emotional, tribal, built on high stakes. It’s also human.
In such an environment, the smallest gestures carry disproportionate weight. Acknowledging someone’s quiet effort might not show up in a spreadsheet, but it could be the reason someone stays one more season, digs in for one more project, or lifts one more teammate.
So, if you’re a boss, sweat the small stuff. Build a praise culture. Train your managers in recognition.
Why?
Because people don’t leave jobs. They leave environments where effort goes unappreciated. And in sport, where the thinnest of margins always matter, recognizing the invisible might be one of your most visible acts of leadership.
John Cairney is head of the University of Queensland’s School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences. He also serves as deputy executive director for the Office of 2032 Games Engagement and Director of the Queensland Centre for Olympic and Paralympic Studies. Rick Burton is an honorary professor at the University of Queensland and the David Falk Emeritus Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University. He co-authored the recently released Rise of Major League Soccer (Lyons Press, 2025).
