Be sure to distribute recognition awards equitably to your group members. Don't reserve recognition events only for project leaders, members of high-profile project teams, or your senior technical people. The antithesis of being recognized for your achievements is feeling that your managers do not know who you are, what you do on the project, how you do it, or what your contributions are to the company as a whole. Some people are uncomfortable with an unannounced manager visit, but others welcome the opportunity to share their concerns and show the boss what they are working on. If you are a first-line supervisor and you never see your boss in the engineering staff's offices, chances are you'll conclude that he or she is hopelessly out of touch with the group.
People are more motivated to put in extra effort when they know the higher-ups value it.
We have all worked for managers who represented the other extreme, having a limited awareness of the group's challenges and contributions. As a supervisor, make sure you really know what the engineers in your department are doing. The team members will have no confidence that they can get fair performance appraisals if they rarely talk to their supervisor. Your employees need to have adequate opportunities to explain what they do and the problems they face. A general open-door policy is important, too, but your team members may be reluctant to bother you if they know how busy you are.