Growing Your People: Awards and Recognition

1. Growing Your People: Awards and Recognition IEEE-SCV Officers Training, January 2013 Tom Coughlin, Coughlin Associates Director Elect, Region 6

2. Recognize Your Peers • The strength of your chapter depends upon the motivation of your members • Find ways to bring people into leadership positions to make projects easier and more fun • Recognition and awards can be a way to motivate members and develop leadership skills

3. Important Soft Leadership Skills • A leader needs to cultivate a quiet place within him/her-self • “Patience comes to those that wait” • Create an atmosphere of creative encouragement and interest • Never make a spur of the moment negative statement or email • Embrace your characters • Honor your heroes • Learn to project your voice so people know you are talking to them

4. IEEE Awards • Award: something given for achievement, e.g. a prize that is given in recognition of somebody’s merit. • For nearly a century the IEEE Awards program has paid tribute to technical professionals whose exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions have made a lasting impact on technology, society and the engineering profession. • There are technical, regional, national and international awards. • You can also make up your own awards!

5. Awards can be given for many things and by different groups • Everyone loves recognition • A simple verbal compliment can go a long way and helps to create a positive environment • A chapter chair can create and give an award—for instance to thank a speaker • Of course, regionally- or nationally-recognized awards are more prestigious than one a Chapter Chair makes up on the fly, but as long as a Chairman is reasonably responsible in his use of the IEEE name, local awards can be great things. 

6. Section and Chapter Awards • A Chapter or Section Chair should be familiar with the established, recognized awards of his Society or Region. • A Chapter or Section Chair should support his/her organization's members by nominating, encouraging, and promoting members in receiving these awards. • Awards and recognition are for both individuals and organizations.  They can recognize achievement or service, as well as to motivate and thank individuals and organizations.  • As chairs, you have the right to create special awards, if an existing award just doesn't "fit" the deserving party.  For example, a local company that consistently offers meeting space for your group.

7. Ordering IEEE Blank Certificates Go to this ieee webpage: www.ieee.org/societies_communities/geo_activities/products/product_photos.html

8. Advanced Membership is an Award • Promote "membership advancement" awards such as Senior member status.  All chapters and sections should do all in their power to promote members eligible for an enhanced grade  • In addition there are many people in your section and chapters that may be associate members—and may not even know it. You should elevate them • During your chapter meetings you can ask if there are any folks that qualify for senior membership and send them to a group of senior members or fellows created to help them get their senior membership—you can do something similar for associate members • You don’t have to know someone well to nominate him for advanced membership, just be reasonably confident in his qualifications

9. IEEE National and Regional Awards Selection Process • Nomination For IEEE awards and recognitions are initiated by members or others, then reviewed by a panel of peers -professional who are especially knowledgeable in a particular field. • Their recommendations are submitted to the IEEE Awards Board for further review prior to final approval by the IEEE Board of Directors. • See slide notes for Big IEEE awards (next page)

10. Other Awards: • IEEE Honorary Memberships • IEEE Service Awards Richard M. Emberson Award Haraden Pratt Award • IEEE Corporate Recognition Engineering Leadership Recognition Corporate Innovation Recognition IEEE awards fall in seven categories: • Medals • Honorary Memberships • Service Awards • Corporate Recognitions • Technical Field Awards • Prize Paper Awards • Scholarship Awards

11. Section Award Categories • Outstanding Engineer Award • Outstanding Leadership and Professional Service Award • Outstanding Teacher • Outstanding Chapter • Outstanding Student Branch Award • We now have large and small student branch awards • Section Chair’s Special Award • Outstanding Corporate Service to Engineering Community Award

12. Awards Categories for the Central Area of Region 6 • Central Area of Region 6 Outstanding Engineer Award • Central Area of Region 6 Outstanding Leadership and Professional Service Award • Central Area of Region 6 Outstanding Section Award • Central Area of Region 6 Outstanding Corporate Service to Engineering Community Award • Central Area of Region 6 Outstanding Student Branch Awards • we now have large and small school awards • Central Area Chair’s Special Award

13. Awards Timetable for 2013you can make your Section date earlier but not laterall other dates are absolute; no late submissions See Next Slide for Award Deadlines

14. Section nominations deadline: March 30, 2013 • Section awards selections: Apr 20, 2013 • Inform Section Winners: Apr 25, 2013 • Deadline for Sections to provide nominations to Area: May 10, 2013 • Area Awards Chair or Area Chair distributes all Area nominations to all Sections in their area for their votes: May 11, 2013 • deadline for all Sections in Area to send their ballots to the Area Awards Chair: May 28, 2013 • Area awards selections and inform Area winners: June 1, 2013 • Deadline for Areas to submit nominations to R6: June 7, 2013 • R6 Awards Chair distributes all packages to Area Chairs and/or Area Awards Chairs (one vote per Area) and scoring spreadsheet: June 15, 2013 • Area Chairs/Area Awards Chairs deliberate (15 Jun - 15 July) • deadline for Area Chairs/Area Awards Chairs to send scored ballot back to R6 awards chair: July 15, 2013 • R6 Awards Chair consolidation/consultation period (15 July - July 30) • R6 Awards selections: July 30, 2013 • R6 winners announced: Aug 6, 2013

15. Closing Remarks • Never miss an opportunity to recognize a person or company’s outstanding effort • Success has many fathers/mothers, but failure is an orphan • May you have many successes and share the credit for them!