No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted – Aesop
Kindness is an impulse. It is not something you plan to be each day.
A
key ingredient to be an impactful leader is to be kind. Kind to your
leadership team. Kind to people who report into you and kind to
yourself. Being a kind leader allows you to cultivate a culture of
respect, generosity and inclusion. It seems so simple to be kind, yet,
it is a quality that makes it hard to be consistent.
Kindness is not
random. Kindness is not the same as empathy. Empathy is being able to
understand the feelings of others. Kindness Is an intrinsic and
consistent quality filled with warmth and genuine concern. Kindness does
not make you vulnerable. It makes you effective. Kindness increases
overall productivity and enhances your brand and reputation.
I
have often had the opportunity and privilege to give performance
feedback to my team, and it often includes having tough conversations.
However, I have found that if these tough conversations are done with
kindness, they build trusting relationships.
Words matter. A somewhat negative performance message with gentle and kind words could have a different impact on an employee than words that are unkind and malicious. Failing to be kind when delivering a tough message could unnecessarily demotivate and stress your employees. By using words like “areas of development” instead of “weakness” will go a long way to being kinder.
Leaders can achieve far more, lead many more and grow their bottom line more with kindness rather than fear or force.