There’s a moment at the Grammy’s every year when a musician wins an award, walks on stage, clutches the mic and delivers the same teary-eyed speech we’ve all heard before. And then, 90 seconds later, someone else gets up and does the exact same thing. Over and over. For three hours. But you keep watching anyway – half out of habit, half hoping Taylor Swift shows up, wins everything, and performs All Too Well… the 10-minute version.
I digress.
At some point, some may stop feeling anything. Not because the winners don’t matter, but because nearly everyone is winning something. And lately, some say it’s starting to feel a lot like that in our industry, too.
And before you say it… yes, I know what you’re thinking.
(Full disclosure: I’ve never won an industry award. So no, this isn’t about sour grapes. It’s just noticing that many industry professionals feel that what used to be a rare spotlight now feels like an industry-wide group hug.)
Let’s be honest. I’ve been in this game long enough to recognize the formula. Dinners, plaques, polite applause, smiling photo ops. It was once a celebration of excellence. Now, it can sometimes seem like an endless river of LinkedIn-approved confetti.
It starts with good intentions. Recognize excellence. Celebrate innovation. Shine a light on the people who make real impacts in LP and safety. But somewhere along the way, some feel the shine may have worn off.
And now? It’s hard for some people to tell the difference between a genuine achievement… and a LinkedIn humblebrag for showing up.
Makes me wonder if we’ve perhaps created an awards culture where everyone gets a trophy? There’s an award for that project. An award for that panel. An award for “leadership” that may or may not involve actually leading anything. An award for being part of a group that created another award.
And sure, most LP professionals understand the vast majority of these folks have absolutely earned the recognition. Most have made this industry better, stronger, and safer in very meaningful ways. They deserve the spotlight. And that can’t be overstated. We need to celebrate those people. The ones whose work not only speaks louder than their titles but drives real impact without chasing the stage.
But many believe that far too often, these awards aren’t about merit. They’re about politics, loyalty, and giving something to someone who hasn’t won one yet.
If this is true, then it’s not excellence. It’s professional back scratching.
What happens if we reward everyone? We would be diluting the value of recognition altogether. We would be making the truly deserving recipients blend into a chorus of “me too” applause. We would turn what should be a rare spotlight into background noise. And, we would be confusing younger professionals about what excellence even looks like.
The result? A system where being celebrated means less than being visible.
And visibility, believe it or not, can often be more about access and connections than contribution. This may become a perception problem. This may also become a problem of principle. We may be unintentionally eroding the trust of those we should be inspiring when we reward social proximity over performance.
What If There’s a Better Way?
We should all make sure we stop conflating performance with politics. We need to be certain we aren’t handing out awards like they’re loyalty points. Recognition shouldn’t trickle down from the top. Rather, it should rise up from the people doing the real work.
Imagine if the most powerful recognition in this industry didn’t come from a trophy or a glossy plaque… but from a peer who took the time to say, “Hey, I saw what you did. It mattered.”
No sponsors. No panels. No glass trophies. Just real recognition. From you to them and from peer to peer.
Not awards. Acknowledgments.
Not staged. Completely unscripted.
Not filtered through committees. Filtered through character.
From one heart to another. Nothing needed in return.
You want to change the industry? Don’t wait for a nomination. Uplift someone who’s doing the work. Someone who would never expect it. Someone who isn’t on stage, on a board, or a council, but who shows up every. damn. day.
Associations will continue handing out awards to those they feel deserve them, and they should. But let’s build something different together.
One real story at a time. You in?
If so, then help us as we develop Industry Spotlights in the Retail Rundown. We all have someone in our world who goes unrecognized. You’ve watched them go the extra mile, probably without ever being asked.
They won’t nominate themselves. But you can nominate them HERE