Don’t get me wrong. 

I believe in empowering employees with positive words and small gestures that help them to feel valued during their mission within the company and further advance their careers forward.

But LinkedIn Kudos are stupid.

Backstory

Frequently seeing random “thank you” notes shared on its social media platform, LinkedIn introduced in 2018 a new feature deemed to make it easier for users to give a shout-out to someone else: LinkedIn Kudos. To put it in their own words: “With LinkedIn Kudos, you now have a fun and easy way to share your appreciation for people in your professional community. It’s now easier than ever to celebrate every success—big and small—directly on LinkedIn.”

Intrinsically, creating and giving Kudos on LinkedIn is very simple. 

Tap on the ‘Create a Post’ option and select ‘Celebrate an Occasion’. Set your post type to ‘Kudos’ and select a connection or multiple people to send kudos to teams big or small. Alternatively, you may visit the recipient’s profile, click on the ‘more’ button and select ‘Give Kudos’ in addition to one of the pre-selected items: 

  • Going Above and Beyond
  • Inspirational Leader
  • Team Player
  • Great Job
  • Making Work Fun
  • Amazing Mentor
  • Outside the Box Thinker
  • Great Presentation
  • Making an Impact

It’s quick and simple!

My POV

The creation of a new social media feature does not mean it’s automatically thoughtful to use mainstream—even less so when the action impacts others. 

Furthermore, some 2021 Gallup insights on workplace recognition highlight that “on an individual level, leaders and managers should give praise that complements the person’s preference (e.g., some don’t like public acclaim, and other thinks it’s the only kind that matter)”. 

And I can only be in 100% agreement with that point.

In a practical mindset like mine, I think LinkedIn Kudos are—at best—transient high-fives on someone’s feed. At worst, a virtual propaganda from original senders stating: “see, I’m taking time to praise my colleagues and/or employees for their nice work” for the whole world to see.

Once again, I understand cultural differences where this practice might feel a normal thing (currently reading ‘The Culture Map’ by Erin Meyer…).

But why waltzing in the break room to bring the spotlight on a specific individual, a memory that will fade away until the next gossip cycle, whilst you can achieve the same empowerment action in a 1-1 meeting?

What else?

Hello LinkedIn, is there an alternative not to display so-called Kudos from my network? Duh…

Without any way to specifically unfollow or exclude Kudos Posts from your LinkedIn Newsfeed, the only remaining option would be to prohibit other LinkedIn Members from giving you Kudos by disabling the @ Mention feature for your account. But making this setting change will eliminate all other mentions of you in any other posts or comments.

The problem.

Now the—short—answer…

As stated earlier on, I don’t mind receiving praise for my work—it’s always cheerful to know that my actions contributed positively across the organization.  

Beyond close-doors high-fives, I am also seeking some permanent ink on my LinkedIn profile.

There are skills listed that I wouldn’t mind you endorsing. 

Additionally, upon regular interactions, if a customer or colleague—whichever professional relationship we’re having—could go the extra mile to write a 2-3-sentence recommendation as well, that would make the hell of a difference in the long run.

And I might even return the favour…