Mark Crowley is a pioneer in workplace leadership, a speaker, and the bestselling author of Lead from the Heart. He is the host of the Lead from the Heart podcast. His new book is The Power of Employee Well-Being: Move Beyond Engagement to Build Flourishing Teams (Amazon, Bookshop).

When I talk with leaders, many of them tell me that it’s really hard to decide on how much recognition to give people vs. constructive or critical feedback. In this conversation, Mark and I highlight the ideal ratio to calibrate our communications so that we support people’s well-being while also helping them grow.

• Despite the focus on employee engagement, actual engagement scores are the same or worse than a decade ago.
• Post-COVID, there’s a massive move towards employee well-being. This is good for both the organization and the employee.
• An ideal positivity ratio is 4:1 in many relationships. That’s four positive interactions for every constructive or critical interaction.
• We react more strongly to negative influence than positions once, thus the need for a ratio favoring the positive.
• Positive interactions include optimism, enthusiasm, solutions orientation, encouragement, kindness, thoughtfulness, approachability, interest, and appreciation.
• Leaders still must make unpopular decisions, set expectations, and give critical feedback. Positive interactions are in addition to these, not instead of.

• The Power of Employee Well-Being: Move Beyond Engagement to Build Flourishing Teams (Amazon, Bookshop)* by Mark Crowley

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

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