To be able to fully appreciate this text start from the beginning see 9 manager sins - why do they leave? - part 1/9.

Let us take a look at the second managerial sin

Managers don’t recognize contributions and forget to reward good work. 

What can be worst than being punished for doing a bad job? When nobody even recognizes that you did something wrong. It sends clear message that your job is not that important and that actually you don't matter. At least that is the feeling that is building up in employees. 

It’s very easy to underestimate the power of a pat on the back or simply saying "Good job", especially with top performers who are intrinsically motivated.

Everyone likes kudos, none more so than those who work hard and give their all.

Team managers need to build a culture of two way open communication in order to be able to establish what drives their people. Only if they communicate with their people it is possible to find out what makes them feel good. And those thing may vary, for one it will be money, for others it might be recognition or sending them for an outside training. 

It is very important to reward your employees and let us be honest with top performers, this will happen often if you’re doing it right.