For a long time, being good has been confused with being bad. In fact, kindness is an essential quality of leadership for the world in which we live. It has become so rare that when a person makes a good gesture or tries to treat someone well, it is considered pretentious. Being good does not mean that you can not make difficult decisions or stand up to difficult people, it just means that you are respectful, kind, and empathetic to your colleagues. When kindness is not practiced in the workplace, we find ourselves in an unhealthy and, at worst, toxic environment. People today want a more humane leadership style. In the age of automation and AI, executive hard skills are easily replicated with intelligent technology. It is soft skills that make a difference in effective leadership. Here are a few ways I’ve discovered that being kind can make you more successful as a leader. You can reinforce a culture of kindness to others by doing random loving acts throughout the day.

• Have compassion: Keep the door open to the person behind you. When you go to the water dispenser, ask if you want someone nearby to draw water.
• Make a colleague smile: When you make eye contact and smile at someone, you show that they are important and that makes them happy.
• Please be careful about manners.
• Show your appreciation: Speak louder in your compliments. Appreciate the participation and efforts of others.
• Listen more: Learn to listen carefully, and understand. Do not ignore or mock the views of others. Listening shows that you care.
• Offer support and help the team members who are struggling.
• Treat everyone equally, whether it’s a newbie or a CEO.

The way you treat others reflects your true values and personality. You cannot connect with others if you are not original. Employees view you as a leader to see if they can trust you. In my experience, serious and beautiful don’t have to be incompatible. Managers should use a personal approach when dealing with employees. It’s the people you work with, not just a stat on a graph. Know your people, meet them where they are and be flexible. After all, people make companies successful. Any strategy or business plan depends on motivated and committed people to realize it! It’s just like a relationship. For a relationship to last, we must have mutual respect, love, trust, understanding, and gratitude. Without these, the base will be unstable. This is why the most successful companies focus on people and relationships, ensuring that both are well managed and nurtured. We all need to practice this.