Drawing A Losada Line

When I was in high school, I worked at a hotel restaurant. We didn't see the general manager much, but we preferred it that way. If you did fifteen things perfectly and one thing wrong, he'd comment on the one wrong thing. When I went into Hospitality Management myself, I vowed never to be that kind of manager.

In college, my classmates and I learned how to use "praise sandwiches" - one comment about something to improve between two items of praise. In training seminars as full time managers, we learned fun little tricks like keeping five pennies in your pocket to remind you to pay at least five employees a compliment before the end of your shift.

It was only recently, however, that I learned about the Losada Line. I can't help but think how much more I would have gotten out of those classes and trainings if they'd included this one powerful truth.

In order for a team (or relationship) to function well, it must have a minimum of 3 positive interactions for every negative 1. Achieve this ratio, and you are above the Losada Line. Fail to hit the Losada Line and you have a constant struggle.

Ready for the scary part? For a relationship to really flourish, the ratio must be 6 to 1! 

As I read this last month, it struck me as a timely challenge going in to this new year: if it is entirely within my control to cause relationships to flourish, what am I intentionally doing to positively invest in others? 

(Of course, that begs a comment on the reverse side of the equation as well: if one negative interaction is worth six positive ones, how often can I achieve a positive ratio simply by keeping my mouth shut and unhelpful things unsaid!)

This challenge really speaks to my heart and aligns with my other self-challenges for the year (which I'll tell you about later), so I've begun to sketch out some ideas on how I can intentionally bring my relationships consistently above the Losada Line.

What about you?