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How GREAT Leaders Create Success
How Kindness Shapes A More Productive Team
By Dr. Paul L. Gerhardt, PhD
Every leader’s dream is having a team which is productive to the best of their ability. Managers all over the world have tried many different tactics to achieve this feat ranging from higher salaries, to more annual days off. However, the secret behind a productive team is something that few really know: kindness. Showing your employes kindness will motivate and encourage them in a variety of unforeseeable ways. This now brings us to the topic of today’s article – how kindness shapes a more productive team.
Kindness can be shown in many ways, the easiest of which is listening to the opinions of your employees. By giving a few minutes of your day to your employees and asking them how their family is doing you are showing that you really care about them. Listen to their thoughts, their feedback on the new company policy, any problems they may be facing at the workplace. This will indeed mean a lot to them.
Next, don’t be the Grinch. If you are the type of boss who wants his/her employees working 24-7 around the clock even on holidays, then I sure you those employees will not stay for very long. It is a worker’s right to get days off on religious holidays and celebrations – no matter how powerful you are, that right cannot be taken away from them. If your employees feel as if they are not getting the privileges they deserve, then one by one soon they will all seek better options.
Kindness can be shown in the form of treating all your employees to dinner one night a year, or taking them out to lunch every once in a while. These are great options to show thanks to your employees for all their hard work and effort throughout the year. Moreover, business dinners or lunches from the boss have also shown to increase morale and energy in a workforce. A motivated and happy team is what makes for a productive team.
Productivity depends on an employee’s feelings for the person (or people) he/she is working for. If the employee thinks that his/her employer truly cares for the lives of employees and is a kind and compassionate human being as well as a good business-person, that employee will automatically become more loyal and dedicated towards the job.
Employers can show their compassion and kindness by changing how the actions of the company effect the environment. For example, if the company itself is a factory, a new method could be adopted to dispose of chemical waste instead of pouring it into rivers and creating mass pollution. Taking care of the Earth helps employees know they are working for a company that cares. Everyone wants to work for companies they can take pride in. Nobody wants to work for a company in which they are embarrassed or ashamed of. Leaders must think about the bigger-picture of how their actions affect people. Employees must feel good about the way they are treated, and customers must too.
Similarly, if a company implements a new policy to donate a portion of their profits to a charity, for example treatments for children affected with cancer, the moral aspect of the decision will greatly increase the respect employees have for their organization and the leaders of their company. These direct and indirect acts of kindnesses towards employees greatly influence their feelings for the boss and motivate them to work harder, hence increasing productivity.
Let’s face it--success is created one action at a time. It takes happy employees to create happy customers. Happiness is contagious! One good deed by a leader who sets the example and is making conscious efforts to go above and beyond what a normal leader would do helps create an organization that goes above and beyond what customers expects and gives them no reason to look for anyone else to purchase the product or service from. Customer loyalty is earned at the cost of kindness of others that starts with a wise leader.
Dr. Paul Gerhardt is a tenured professor of management, diversity and well-respected and trusted leadership lecturer/trainer who helps organizations get amazing returns on investment. Dr. Gerhardt is the author of several publications available on Amazon.com, including Diversity at Work and the new Leadership Handbook. Consider inviting Dr. Paul Gerhardt to do customized leadership or diversity training at your organization. Most organizations find that diversity and leadership training by the right trainer has a significant instant return on investment. You can get your FREE COPY of the Leadership Handbook by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/LeadershipHandbook
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