The World Needs Random Acts of Kindness

By Chester Elton

In our book “The Best Team Wins,” we profiled Chris Hadfield. He might look like a fireman, or maybe a high-school biology teacher. He’s neither. The trim, mustachioed Canadian is an astronaut and a member of a select group of only two hundred people who have walked in space. Forbes has called him the most famous astronaut since Neil Armstrong.

During his five-month’s as commander on the International Space Station, Hadfield gave up the first few hours of shut-eye each night so he could float around sending messages via Facebook and Twitter about stuff that most astronauts take for granted but the rest of us find fascinating, like how to make a sandwich in microgravity, how to get your hair cut, or how to wring out a washcloth.

Hadfield did more to generate public interest in space travel than anyone for decades. But his greatest contribution may have been the way he led his diverse team. He told us that before he assumed his role as commander, he knew the mission would be a management challenge. His team was comprised of smart, driven Americans and Russians—the oldest and youngest two and a half decades apart in age. Not only might generational divides develop, but language barriers and cultural misunderstandings could create issues. And here was a fellow from Sarnia, Ontario, and he was about to tell them what to do twenty-four hours a day.

After their return to earth, we met Chris at a conference in Alberta. He told us their mission was wildly successful from a scientific and public relations perspective; but more remarkably, during their five months in space, his team members never had a single heated argument. Not one. They worked together beautifully.

How did they do it?

In space, he explained to us, there are lots of written rules: There are books full of them. They are important because when you don’t follow procedures, things can go wrong and everyone could, well, die. The rules are sacrosanct. Yet Hadfield’s team was equally committed to one unwritten rule, which they collectively came up with: Each member of the crew had to do one random act of kindness for every other member of the crew every single day.

That lasted for five months, without fail.

Hadfield said these random acts of kindness were often anonymous. One astronaut might help cook a meal when it wasn’t his turn, another might tidy up a sleeping area for a crew mate who had to rush to duty, another might check a piece of support equipment or clean a filter for a team member who needed to get some rest. These actions focused each person on serving others, versus themselves, and kept tempers in check and egos in the right place. This one simple practice had a profound effect. He credits it as being the most impactful in bringing his team together.

Now, more than ever, businesses need leaders like Chris Hadfield, those with the ability to rally people together instead of dividing them apart. In the current era of unprecedented change with the COVID-19 virus, social unrest, and economic upheaval, we are seeing more smart organizations meet the challenge head-on by becoming more inclusive, more accommodating of differences, and more kind to each other.

My invitation, should you decide to accept it, is to set a goal each day this coming week to perform a random act of kindness for someone on your team and someone in your family. Be creative, be thoughtful (do something they value, not you), and don’t delay.

We promise the results will be out of this world.

Leading with Gratitude on LinkedIn LIVE streaming every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 pm ET. I hope you will join us!        

I have a fun LIVE broadcast on LinkedIn every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 pm ET aptly named, "Leading with Gratitude". The show is produced by the fine folks at?Methods , and powered by Marshall Goldsmith's 100 Coaches. My goal is to bring you great information from amazing guests. I hope you'll check it out!

• Tuesday, July 28th - Mike C-Roc Ciorrocco - Turning setbacks into rocket fuel! C-Roc is a Yahoo Finance Top Business Leaders To Follow, 2020 CEO People Building, Inc Host of the "What Are You Made Of?" podcast
• Thursday, July 30th - Joshua Spodek - #1 bestselling author of "Initiative and Leadership Step by Step",host of the award-winning Leadership and the Environment podcast, and professor at NYU
• Thursday, August 6th - Nick Bradley - Business Growth Specialist!?Nick helps entrepreneurs & investors transform good companies into great ones. He's a Speaker, Coach and Host of “Scale Up Your Business” podcast
• Thursday, August 13 - Chris Rainey + Tim Munden - Anxiety at Work! Chris is host of the #1 business podcast in the world, HR Leaders Podcast?? (500k Monthly Listeners) Tim is the CLO at Unilever. While a guest on HR Leaders Podcast, Tim talked about having anxiety which gave Chris the courage to talk about his own anxiety he's been hiding his whole career.
• Tuesday, August 18 - Jonah Paquette - Mental Health Training. Clinical Psychologist, and author of "Real Happiness: Proven Paths for Contentment, Peace and Well-Being," and "The Happiness Toolbox." 3rd book, “Awestruck,” will be released in 2020, and will focus on the science of awe and wonder

The Gratitude Journal is a your place to find tools to create an all-in culture, at work and at home.

Today I am grateful that our book “Leading With Gratitude” was honored by the International Book Award for Management & Leadership!

It's always great to have hard work rewarded. Thank you?Adrian Gostick ?for your immense writing talent.

What recognition have you received that made you grateful? I would love to hear your stories. Drop a note below!

I love reviewing my favorite books for you! This Weekend Book Club features "52 Weeks of Worship" by Ekpedeme “Pamay” M. Bassey

Your copy of "52 Weeks of Worship" can be found here . For more information about Pamay's Project, visit her website https://my52wow.com/

Chester Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. His work is supported by research with more than 1 million working adults, revealing the proven secrets behind high-performance cultures and teams. They are the founders of The Culture Works, a global training company.

Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick’s new book,?Leading with Gratitude,?is now available wherever fine books are sold. Visit "Leading with Gratitude " for resources including videos, podcast episodes, and more tips and tools to build a culture of gratitude.

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