I’ve written about kindness several times on my blog (here, here, and here) for a couple of reasons:
- There are so many compelling reasons to resolve to be kind in all aspects of life and work.
- Kindness is not a box that we check, but rather something we choose to actively imbue in our behaviors, interactions, and policies.
It can be helpful to occasionally be reminded of these two things.
So here it goes:
In team meetings, default to kindness.
With customers, default to kindness.
When crafting policy and procedures, default to kindness — really consider how they will serve the organization’s mission and the people that have chosen to be a part of it.
It doesn’t take too much reflection on what makes certain teams, customer relationships, and organizations great to realize that kindness is a foundational component.
And if that’s not enough, there’s a solid empirical basis that supports the importance of kindness too.
In all things, be kind.
and also don't write it to appease me!