The Magic of Kind Leadership
For nearly a year, I’ve been coaching a nonprofit leader since her second month in a small direct services organization. She was hired to lead an important department; it was the first time she’d supervised others.
We’ve talked a lot about hiring and other staffing issues. Because each member of her team has a very different personality and work style, they need distinct kinds and levels of supervision, training, feedback and autonomy.
Recently, she decided to spend more time in full-team meetings, while managing her team members’ different needs. She sought guidance on how she could:
Build team cohesion
Ensure all felt supported and an important part of the group
Boost each person’s confidence to make decisions on their own and
Encourage them to ask their teammates for help as needed
After brainstorming, we came up with a couple ideas to try:
Practice self-relection by using the tool known as “Rose, Bud, Thorn.” This involves each person stating something about their work that they enjoy (“rose”), an opportunity they’re excited about (“bud”) and a “thorny” issue that requires their and possibly others’ attention
Increase trust among team members by asking them to offer positive feedback to each other for handling a particular task well that week or month, making sure that every person receives appreciation from a peer and/or from her, the team leader
I like these ideas because they represent tried-and-true ways to foster positive workplace culture -- in this case, a supportive team. The first ritual builds self-awareness -- a critical emotional intelligence competency. The second practice of psychologically rewarding staff costs the organization nothing and is a win-win-win: it improves self-confidence and autonomy and enhances team spirit, engagement and morale.
Why Kindness Matters
Turns out that being kind at work is itself an important leadership skill. “Being kind is not just the right thing to do,” says Joanne Trotta, CEO of LeadersEdge. “It’s probably the most powerful way to influence the culture and overall engagement levels of your entire organization.”
Her blog post for Emergenetics lists some of the scientifically proven outcomes (with research citations) of behaving kindly or simply witnessing an act of kindness, including:
Helps people feel at ease with each other
Offers an energy boost
Lowers stress and depression levels
Improves heart health and relieves pain
Lest you believe being kind makes you a pushover, you can still hold your employees accountable while being kind to them. And, as I’ve written previously, empathy (behaving kindly) is a workplace superpower. Workers want bosses to be understanding, compassionate and considerate — in a word “kind.” Bosses who are not are the ones we find any excuse to quit, regardless of how much we like an organization or the work we’re doing.
Kind leaders can make or break workplace culture. Since people look to their leaders to set expectations, a new leader in a “toxic organization” who does the following can have an outsized impact on shifting the workplace culture:
Treats every employee with respect and fairness
Shows appreciation and thanks people
Demonstrates empathy, patience and forgiveness
Is authentic and interested in employees’ personal lives
As Trotta observes, “Kindness is highly contagious. It catches on like wildfire and can transform the culture of your organization quickly.”
Check out this great infographic on LinkedIn and assess how well you’re doing on “kind leadership.” Are there any areas where you could use support to be a kinder leader? If so, let’s talk soon.