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Earlier this year I was reflecting on what I want to represent as a leader. I also reflected over my core values. I found inclusion, trust and empathy, but was searching for another trait, that I didn’t really find a word for, something defining care and respect. One morning I was as usual scrolling through the feed here and stumbled across a post about James Rhee’s Red Helicopter – leading through kindness and a little bit of math. And there it was – kindness. These are my core values, kindness, inclusion, trust and empathy.
I grew up with Astrid Lindgren’s amazing characters, and Pippi Longstocking has always been one of my favorites. There’s a quote from her (yes, I know it might have other sources as well) – If you are very strong, you must also be very kind.  I find that extremely important in leadership positions – where one is superior to team members from a power perspective. With the power imbalance it becomes even more important to be kind.
Kind doesn’t mean always nice, doesn't mean there will never be consequences if things are not done to satisfaction, doesn't mean there will not be pressure and sometimes course corrections. But it means there will always be respect and care for the individual, it means there is no power for the sake of power, it also means listening to understand and believing in the noble intent. Kindness also doesn’t mean weakness – being kind and still making things work is to me a much bigger strength than obtaining results through power exertion.
I wish the world would be kinder, and I strive to bring more kindness to the working place. I have always liked the quote from Madeleine Albright – “There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women” but I would actually want to extend it to “There’s a special place in hell for people who don’t help other people”. Kindness costs nothing, caring costs nothing, compassion costs nothing. I think we all do better when treated with kindness.
What will you do to show kindness today?