DO YOU HAVE A KIND BOSS / ARE YOU A KIND LEADER

Some may disagree, but I firmly believe kindness is a critical trait for successful leadership.

Kindness is not weakness.
It also doesn’t mean that business goals become secondary.

In fact, in my experience, when leaders are kind, employees often go beyond the call of duty - and overachieve goals.

Here are 5 simple, high-impact examples of kindness at work:

1. Sick leave - 
A team member texts: “Not feeling well, will take leave today.”
Many bosses don’t even respond. Some write a plain “ok”. Instead of that you write “Get well soon” and follow up in the evening with “Hope you’re feeling better now?”

2. Hospitalisation - 
When an employee is hospitalised, you take the time out to visit them & enquire about their wellbeing. This small gesture will be remembered for years.

3. Celebrating success - 
You give a handwritten note: “Thank you, dear [Name]”, mentioning the specific achievement. Better still - present it in front of the team, take a photo, and share it on internal communication platform and on social media like LinkedIn.

4. Family challenges - 
If a team member is dealing with an unwell parent, spouse, or child, you display genuine empathy, offer flexible hours and tangible help - such as temporarily reducing their workload.

5. Missed targets - 
Instead of saying, “You screwed up,” you say - 
“Let’s discuss what we both could have done better. It’s our joint responsibility. How can I help you achieve targets next quarter?”

Kindness costs nothing. But its return - in loyalty, trust, and performance - is priceless