An open letter from Glenn Stearns, CEO of Kind Lending
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
Who said that? Me!
Honestly, it’s a phrase that’s been around for a long time. Attributed to who — we don’t know.
It’s a shame we don’t remember the name of the sort of motivational mastermind that came up with that particular pearl of wisdom, but it doesn’t change the fact that it IS a pearl of wisdom.
So why is this a phrase that’s stuck with us for so long?
Because it’s packed with meaning. Because what it’s trying to convey is a message that should be considered EXTREMELY important to any and all of us lucky enough to find ourselves in a leadership position.
I’ve done decades of research on just this topic — and I’m here to share it with you today.
Kindness Is Critical To Your Success
You think I’m blowing smoke? I’m not.
According to a recent Gallup survey less than half of employees AROUND THE WORLD feel strongly that their employer cares about their well-being.
That’s less than 45% of all working people on earth.
I don’t know about you, but that number makes me shiver a bit. And it shows that there’s some serious work yet to be done by the leaders of the world. We have slack, and we have GOT to start picking it up.
So — how are we going to start changing the minds of the 55% of workers who are frankly fed up and feeling undervalued by their current bosses and managers? It’s a challenge, that’s for sure, but I’m convinced that kindness is the key.
I’m going to get into the science of it for a moment — so pay attention (like you didn’t in Ms Marston’s eighth grade biology class).
People who practice compassion in their day to day life produce a heck of a lot less of the stress hormone, called ‘cortisol’. How much less? 23% less that’s how much. That means that people who are kinder are less stressed. And we all know who much stress can contribute to an ineffective work environment.
Okay, you may be saying. This all sounds great, Glenn, but I clicked on this article because you included a couple of punchy buzz words about leadership and CEOs. What’s this kindness racket got to do with them?
To which I say, hold your horses! I’m getting to it.
Read on, my friend.
Kindness Makes Better Leaders
There are countless studies I’ve read on kindness in the workplace, and each time the research says
the same thing…
Kinder leaders are better leaders.
A study that tracked over 50,000 leaders in a variety of workplaces noted that the best of the bunch were the ones who expressed warmth to their contemporaries and employees alike. They were the most effective, best liked and most inspiring managers of all recorded by the study.
It’s research such as this that’s proven that workers who feel compassion from their bosses are much more likely to work harder on challenging tasks — with some recorded as spending up to 30% longer on complex projects than their fellows in less supportive working environments.
These are really important statistics to keep in mind if you manage a team or company.
Some people think that business is all about the cut-throat — about the hustle — about getting rich quick and climbing to the top on the backs of the people you meet along the way. These numbers prove that this just ain’t so.
Kind leadership has been proven not only to have a significant impact on the energy and efficiency of the workers who benefit from it (and significantly lowering the stress of the leaders who practice it) — but it also makes those workers plain happier.
And if you ask me, happiness is the true measure of a good leader’s value.
So the next time you have a spare moment between meetings, between the hustle and grind of daily
life, remember this phrase:
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
We don’t know who said it first, but those words can become yours if you live by their example.
Signing off,
