Leading With Kindness: 9 Actions to Help Leaders Improve People's Lives and Deliver Better Business Results

“Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see” someone said once (usually, but wrongly attributed to Mark Twain).

Can leaders be effective and get results by leading with kindness? What happens with the team and their leader practices kindness as a way of leading?

Kindness is defined as the act of being compassionate, considerate and caring for other people without the expectation of getting something in return for it. In the context of leadership, kindness is about using our leadership talents, resources and leverage to improve other people’s lives by leading with authentic acts of love, generosity, compassion, care and, especially, service. Leading with kindness is inclusive of servant leadership.

Research shows that kindness if an intrinsic human behavior. Unfortunately, as we develop and grow up, we are “educated out” of kindness. In our hypercompetitive, scarcity-mindset society, kindness feels weak or that it doesn’t deliver results.

One author said once “it speaks well for the native kindness?of our hearts, that nothing gives great pleasure than to feel that we are conferring it”. What this means is that kindness returns to the giver.

If kindness does indeed return to the giver, that means that leading with kindness makes for a better leader who is also the recipient of compassion, consideration and care. Leading with kindness creates an environment of trust, safety, belonging and inclusion, all of which are conducive to a great human experience at work, which ultimately translates in increased engagement, productivity, performance and, yes, loyalty. The connection between leading with kindness and getting results at work is strong, albeit indirect. This is because leading with kindness’s direct result is creating better conditions for people to be treated with love and respect. As employees feel that there is compassion, consideration?and care toward them, they in turn deliver more and better for the organization and the leader.

People who give and receive kindness are less prone to harmful stress (because they create less cortisol), their mood improves which has an impact in potential anxiety, depression levels decrease for them, and blood pressure reduces because of the release of oxytocin. All in all, kindness, philosophically and scientifically, is the way to lead!

Thus, leading with kindness is, first of all, about humanity, and then about work results. The former is the direct effect of kindness, the second is a “collateral” effect, which creates and drives business value. Leading with kindness is powerful for the people and the organization, and, of course, for the leader who is practicing kindness.

How can a leader lead with kindness?

These are 9 strategies that can work.

Please know that this is neither a prescription, nor the only ways to lead with kindness. What matters most is that you, as a leader, learn about kindness, embrace its power and practice it in your leadership style.

Genuineness

You can't fake kindness, or at least you can sustain for too long that you are faking it. Leading with kindness has to come from a place of authenticity and genuineness. As a leader you first have to believe and embrace the idea that kindness is good for your team and you, and that it will deliver results by making their lives better. Do you believe that kindness is effective, not only to make your people's lives better but also to make you a better leader who delivers better results? If your answer is a genuine YES, then you have a strong first principle in place.

Support

Your team looks up to you for support, not only about work related stuff but also about other things that may be happening in their lives and have an impact in their performance. Leading with kindness is about being supportive in a non-judgmental way

Intentionality

Kindness doesn't just "happen". Leading with kindness needs more than "random acts of leading with kindness". You have to be intentional and decisive about how you invest your energy in caring for your team and supporting them. You have to practice and practice your "leading with kindness" leadership style

Trust

You may not necessarily be a "confidant" to the people in your team, but they still want to know that they can count on you and that you will keep your word to them. Your relationship with the team and the influence you have on them is based on trust, not power. Building a maintaining trust is key to lead with kindness

Compassion

Compassion is the willingness to do something to relieve the suffering or pain someone in your team may be going through. It requires awareness, a desire to relief the suffering, and a willingness to respond. Compassion is fundamental to leading with kindness

Respect

Leading with kindness thrives when you treat your team with respect, dignity and integrity. Respect is highly correlated with belonging, which in turn creates more engagement and productivity. To lead with kindness be respectful and it'll create the conditions to get the best results

Gratitude

Leading with kindness is also about regularly recognizing and appreciating, and giving credit to your team for the work (efforts and outcomes) they do. Kindness is caring and consideration, and this means generously expressing gratitude

Purpose

Leading with kindness to get better work results requires connecting people and their contributions with a "higher purpose". It is about giving them meaning and valuing the work they do, accordingly. Be "purposeful" in the way you design and assign workloads so that your employees find meaning in their work

Open-mindedness

Kindness makes people's lives better (receiver and giver's lives). That's the direct result. Getting better work results will happen over time. Be open-minded as in believe that leading with kindness will make your team more productive, but this won't happen overnight

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Written by Enrique Rubio, Founder of Hacking HR