One particular quality will inspire team members, keep them engaged, enhance their job satisfaction, and make them more productive. This leadership superpower is not energy, intensity, or work ethic. It’s kindness.
Good leaders are kind people, but that doesn’t mean they are weak, soft, or tender. The idea that kindness and compassion are incompatible with strong oversight and accountability runs deep. The “nice guys finish last” mentality even promotes the notion that kind leaders can’t achieve extraordinary results. Don’t you believe it.
Kind leaders are thoughtful about the circumstances and obstacles others face and respond with warmth and compassion when people need it. They work hard to separate the person from the ideas they promote and the results they produce. Kind leaders are tough on issues, arguments, choices, and strategies, but remain warm and empathetic to people.
The formula for kindness has three primary ingredients: warmth, generosity, and thoughtfulness. Leaders who are seen as kind extend themselves to others, inviting them into conversations where they listen intently and make room for competing opinions. They are generous with their time and with the resources that make work more rewarding. They give of themselves to make others feel recognized for their contribution. (Think springing for pizzas after a long day.) And they are considerate about what and when they ask for things from others.
Kindness is a character strength and a leadership asset. People appreciate and work harder for leaders who are warm and compassionate. More importantly, they stay in their seat, resisting job offers from competitors. When strong, decisive leaders are also kind, something magical happens. Trust blossoms as others emulate the kindness shown to them and project it forward.
Great leaders know the capacity to care and be kind gives the workplace its true significance. It takes a strong leader to be kind.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
