KIND: The quiet power of kindness at work

Recognizing and understanding the importance of kindness at work, written by the author of How to be a Productivity Ninja.

In the range of leadership skills, kindness is inherently quieter, more personal, harder to see - and yes, less interesting or cinematic than controversial tweets and 'bullying boss' behaviour. But the most successful leaders and organizations recognise that kindness builds empathy, trust and psychological safety, the cornerstones of so many desirable traits and outcomes in many businesses: more creativity; a better quality of decision-making; safer critical thinking; higher levels of staff loyalty, flexibility and retention; a heightened sense of engagement; and higher productivity and profitability.

The central premise of KIND is that if you want to create psychological safety in your organization, then there are no better approaches than to create a culture that encourages mindful kindness - or, as the author calls it, 'kindfulness'. Kindness and empathy act in a sort of loop: acts of kindness inspire more empathy; empathy inspires acts of kindness. This in turn creates more trust between individuals, which ultimately leads to a collective sense of feeling safe to take interpersonal risks. Through this psychological safety, people communicate their riskier and more creative ideas, own their mistakes instead of trying to cover them up, give the feedback that helps people to grow (even when it risks upsetting them), and support each other with a sense of loyalty and reciprocity. By using the language of competency and performance, the author aims to convince the cynics, as well as helping already 'kindful' workers, to articulate the power of kindness and make a strong case for its greater profile in their organizations. The author argues that, far from being a 'fluffy' or nebulous idea, kindness and empathy should be seen - and used - as 21st century superpowers.