As we close out another successful year at Mariani Premier Group, I’m reminded of a quote often attributed to Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Strategy matters, of course. However, it’s been my experience that what sustains growth, fosters innovation and builds resilience is the performance of the people who execute your strategy every single day.
That’s why an intentional focus on celebrating employee excellence and innovation is such an important topic. In an evolving industry, the one constant that drives our success is people. The question is, how do you intentionally build a culture that recognizes employee excellence and sparks innovation at every level?
In exploring this question, I believe it comes down to three simple factors — acknowledgement, creativity and empowerment. Focusing on these can improve employee retention and increase job satisfaction.
Recently, at the Mariani Premier Group, we celebrated an employee who’s been working with one of our companies for 50 years. Not only that, but this employee also has a son and grandson who work for us. We also have numerous associates who have been with us for over 30 years. That type of employee retention contributes to your organization’s success monumentally.
Step 1: Acknowledgment
At its core, acknowledgment is about visibility. We all want to know that our work really matters, not just in terms of the bottom line, but in how our work helps advance the mission. Too frequently, we save employee recognition for the “big wins.” But it’s often more meaningful to practice small, consistent acknowledgements to create a culture of excellence.
Ask yourself:
⦁ How often am I spotlighting people doing things right?
⦁ Am I recognizing individuals in ways that feel authentic to them?
⦁ Do my acknowledgments connect back to our values and long-term vision?
Acknowledgment is more than saying “good job.” It’s telling a foreman, “Your focus on safety last week ensured that everyone returned to their families safe and sound … plus you saved us hours of rework. Thank you!” Or telling a landscape designer, “That fresh take on the planting plan gave us a competitive edge. You are making our client’s vision a reality. Thank you!” Recognition tied to impact reinforces excellence.
Step 2: Creativity
Our industry thrives on creativity through new practices and innovations. But creativity needs intentional space.
Here’s where leaders must shift from a mindset of control to one of curiosity. For example, instead of asking, “Did this project succeed or fail?” ask, “Is there something we should have done differently?”
Creating opportunities for creative collaboration is so important. Whether it’s a weekly huddle, an annual retreat away from the day-to-day tasks or a quick “what-if” session with our teams, any place we can encourage employees to contribute ideas without fear should be encouraged.
Step 3: Empowerment
Acknowledgment fuels motivation. Creativity sparks ideas. Empowerment is what transforms both into sustainable innovation. Empowerment means giving people ownership of outcomes and trusting them to solve problems, try new methods and even fail along the way.
This approach requires clear roles and guardrails. To be clear, empowerment is not an “anything-goes” culture. Instead, it’s about providing autonomy within a structure. As leaders, we must ask:
⦁ Do employees know which decisions they can make on their own?
⦁ Are we equipping them with data, tools and training to succeed?
⦁ Do we treat missteps as learning moments instead of setbacks?
When employees feel empowered, a virtuous circle is created, and innovation becomes a part of our culture.
Why this matters
In a market where talent is scarce and client expectations are high, celebrating excellence and innovation is a competitive advantage. In my experience, if we have a culture that recognizes achievement and nurtures great ideas, we will outperform our competition.
At the Mariani Premier Group, we’ve seen firsthand how employees at every level contribute to innovation in the right environment. From redesigning workflows to rethinking client engagement, the best ideas come from the ground up. Our job as leaders is to make sure those ideas are seen, celebrated and scaled.
Excellence, after all, isn’t something you simply recognize. It’s something we need to build into the DNA of our organizations and nurture through acknowledgment, creativity and empowerment.
