Kindness in leadership: How to become an effective leader

Kindness isn’t always seen as a valuable trait in leadership; in fact, it’s often seen as a weakness. But the organizations that thrive create a culture of open feedback, mentoring, and empowerment.

Kindness and great leadership complement each other beyond just the relationship you have with your team. Studies show it also increases employee performance. Leaders are influential in modeling kindness to their staff and, when showing kindness, benefit from increased employee well-being and engagement.

Kind leaders not only act in the best interests of themselves but also others and the organization. They are supportive, honest egalitarians, and they set clear team expectations.

When staff feel cared for, this generates a sense of support and goodwill, profoundly impacting employee engagement. This encourages collaboration, sharing ideas, and mutual support between peers in the long term. The overall effect is increased productivity, precisely what all leaders should be striving to achieve amongst their teams.

Kindness isn’t often explicitly referenced within corporate values, nor is it listed on requirements when outlining a new job role. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build kindness into your organizational culture — it must be role-modeled, praised, and recognized when it’s lacking. Leaders are in the best position to exemplify kindness and demonstrate its clear benefits to your business.

Kind leaders show authenticity, transparency and trustworthiness, and they empower their team. When we talk about kindness, we aren’t talking about random acts of kindness (though those are great as well!). We’re talking about including a little of each in your day-to-day life, both professionally and personally.

Being a good leader means understanding and valuing the lives of the people you lead. It’s about understanding their unique personalities and building a culture where everyone thrives. Be flexible and encouraging enough to allow your team to be themselves at work.

Below are some tips to practice purposeful kindness:

1. Give honest feedback. It can be challenging to give honest feedback, but it can be especially difficult for managers and leaders. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to have tough conversations. That doesn’t mean you are being unkind. You can handle the challenging topic with empathy and kindness. Help your team become their best by being honest with them.When leaders don’t tell people the truth because they think they are sparing their feelings, that is not being kind. All they are doing is being kind to themselves by protecting themselves from potential confrontation.

But if you assume your team wants to grow and improve, then being honest when something isn’t the right fit is the kindness they need. Authentic leadership involves coaching, directing or mentoring to get the best out of people. And yes, you can do this with compassion and sincerity.

2. Care for your team. Kind leaders recognize that people are … people, not machines. Great leaders understand this and acknowledge that people have personal responsibilities outside of work. Their private life doesn’t just turn off when they arrive at work. Kind leaders smile, say thank you, and acknowledge people. They celebrate successes, treat people as equals, and check in on them from time to time.

3. Be transparent. A kind leader will show consideration and openness about decisions that impact others. Whether the effect is positive or negative, leaders need to explain their choices and tell how they got there. Hold space for people to process, understand, and come back with their opinion. Show clarity and transparency in decision-making, rather than hiding things and letting people’s imaginations run wild.

Random acts of kindness will always be necessary, but leaders also have to focus on being kind to those around them regularly. If you want to be a great leader, don’t focus so much on being spontaneous, but instead focus on regular, intentional kindness — especially to the people who support our careers each and every day.