InBloom #5: Kindness

This week at work we launched a new brand campaign for the RSPCA. It's spearheaded by an inspiring, uplifting, funny and moving film carrying a really important message - kindness for all.

The "For Every Kind" creative platform really resonated with me with my Bloom President hat on so I wanted to focus on the themes of Kindness for this week's InBloom article.

Kindness to each other

Since joining the Bloom Board, we've spoken a lot about the importance of kindness as one of our core values. Kindness to each other and kindness to ourselves.

At Bloom we support women in the marcomms industry through friendship, allyship and understanding. Every member shows an act of kindness by giving up their time, skills and expertise to mentor and support younger women in the industry by paying it forward. However, for me it is the support we give to each other that is so important. That might be:

• An outside ear to provide perspective on a work situation
• A confidence boost to make a change or challenge a situation (personal or professional)
• Opening up of networks to launch new ventures - be that business ventures or side hustles
• A community of like-minded people in our many Inclusion Groups that provide support and friendship where you may have previously felt marginalised, unsupported or alone

The concept of women supporting women in the workplace is not new - as this article from Harvard Business Review in 2018 shows and Forbes goes on to say that there is now proof that women who support women are more successful.

Success is all well and good but what is success for us as women in the workplace? For me success comes from loving your job, from wanting to get out of bed every day to give your all to what you are doing. If a bit of kindness from a colleague can deliver that then kindness is key.

Kindness to ourselves

Something I hear a lot from Bloom members is how busy we are, often managing work, a busy home life, parent and/or carer roles, big promotion opportunities, even Bloom commitments. We can spend a lot of our time thinking of, pleasing and ensuring others are thriving; clients, colleagues, mentees, kids, parents, partners...

But what about ourselves? I don't want to be indulgent here but I do want to say, to any woman out there managing the work life balance, please spend some time being kind to yourself. The others may need you. And if they need you. They need you functioning and fabulous. And that might mean you need to give yourself a bit of TLC.

It could be active kindness; a monthly massage, making time for a yoga or mindfulness class, building time for a gym or home workout session, seeing a friend for a coffee. It could be more passive kindness; an early night, a Saturday lie-in, space to just be and breathe for a bit.

Kindness for all kinds

The one thing I encourage us all to take away from this InBloom is that kindness does not have to be much. I have a wonderful colleague who will often buy a little chocolate gift for my daughter when she knows I'm busy. It means I go home with something that makes my daughter know I've been thinking of her even though I've been busy. To that wonderful lady, thank you! Your kindness goes a long way and is never unnoticed!

Until next week. ????