Connecting through kindness

I’ve been thinking a lot about kindness lately. And how a small, kind gesture can make such a mammoth difference to someone’s life.Kind is possibly my favourite four letter word. Being kind is one of easiest things we can do, and it can have life‑changing consequences. Kindness doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive or time consuming. I feel as we become “busier” we are becoming less kind. If you’re wondering, busy is my least favourite four letter word! I’m so very grateful to have been the recipient of many acts of kindness throughout my life so far: When my parents died, when I was housebound after melanoma surgery, when we’re away and our neighbours look after our chickens, when a stranger offers me a seat on the train, when door is held open for me and so many more small and large gestures. Kindness is so prevalent in the personal worlds of so many of us, that it makes me wonder why it’s not as common in the business world. Don’t businesses and their leaders realise that when you are kind to people, they want to do more for you? Whether it’s your workforce, customers or investors. The number one quality of a connectable leader has is kindness. What would happen if we started to measure the number of kind deeds transacted? How many of us would be able to say, hand on heart, that we are a success? And think about the flow-on impact. I know I seek out the businesses that have shown me kindness. I WANT them to have my money. And I tell people about them. Their kindnesses show they value me. It’s not rocket science! It shouldn’t surprise you to know that research shows leaders and organisations that are kind to their employees have employees who stay longer, work harder and are more committed to the organisation. It also shouldn’t surprise you, that when you are kind to your staff that kindness flows out and onto their colleagues, their families, your customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. What would happen if you included a kindness metric in your key performance indicators or your strategic goals? What impact do you think that might have on your people and your business? Kindness at work isn’t only about the warm fuzzies it generates. Kindness at work can improve job performance, lengthen employee tenure and reduce absences. According to Emma Seppala, associate director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, “when organisations promote an ethic of compassion rather than a culture of stress, they may not only see a happier workplace (since a lack of bonding within the workplace has been shown to increase psychological distress, while positive social interactions at work have been shown to boost employee health), but also an improved bottom line.” How can you start a kindness revolution at work? A few things you can do are: Ask people how they are and actually listen to their reply Say good morning and / or good night when you arrive and leave each day Bring in baked goods to share Have a kindness board – where people can share kind things others have done for them Say thank you – to your team, colleagues, suppliers and customers Help out a colleague when they are stuck on a piece of work Spend time getting to know new staff members Buy a coffee or make a cup of tea for a co-worker Don’t yell at people when they make a mistake Give a compliment to a co-worker Focus on the strengths your colleagues bring to work, not their weaknesses What are you doing to be kind? And what are some of the small meaningful ways people have been kind to you? I’d love to know. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe. If you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.