# Recognition preferences survey

Decide what permission and attribution checks a manager needs before sharing a specific contribution publicly.

If nothing was unclear or difficult, say so. Skip questions about steps you did not experience; use not applicable where appropriate.

## 1. Before a manager shares your contribution, what information would you want about the audience and wording?

Answer: ____________________

## 2. Which part of the contribution should remain unattributed or private?

Answer: ____________________

## 3. How would you prefer to approve, change or decline the proposed acknowledgment?

Answer: ____________________

## Author notes / illustrative keys where applicable

1. Establish which audience and exact wording the person would need to review; a broad preference for praise does not authorize a particular publication.
2. Locate the specific attribution boundary, especially when a contribution involves sensitive work. Keep the reason private rather than asking for the underlying confidential details.
3. Make approval, revision and refusal actionable before the acknowledgment is shared. Silence or a general positive preference is not consent to the proposed wording.

Interpretation caution: Preferences can vary with the situation.


## Agree attribution before publishing

Illustrative choices separate permission from a general preference for praise.

### Person approves the wording and audience

Next action: Use the agreed wording in the agreed channel.

Evidence to revisit: Check the final version against the person-approved scope.

### Person requests a narrower attribution

Next action: Remove the sensitive detail or use agreed team-level credit.

Evidence to revisit: Ask whether the revised wording respects the stated boundary.

### Person declines or has not replied

Next action: Hold individual attribution; do not interpret silence as approval.

Evidence to revisit: A later acknowledgment needs a new explicit discussion.

## Illustrative finding and follow-up

Observation: Synthetic example: a colleague welcomes praise for the team result but does not want their role in a sensitive customer issue named in a public channel.

Action to test: Send the proposed wording and intended audience privately; offer a decline route and use team-level attribution only if agreed.

Follow-up: For the next acknowledgment, ask whether the colleague saw the proposed audience and wording before publication and could change or decline attribution. Do not interpret silence as consent.


## Collection protocol

When and whom to ask: Before publishing a specific acknowledgment; ask the person whose contribution would be attributed.

Decision owner: The manager preparing the acknowledgment records the agreed scope; a communications owner checks the intended channel if necessary.

Follow-up: Check the final wording against the person-approved version before publication, and ask afterward whether the stated boundary was respected.

Response handling: Keep individual preferences private to those preparing the acknowledgment. Do not quote sensitive examples in a team-wide report.