March 25, 2020
Why Kindness Breeds Optimum Outcomes
The Coronavirus is creating fear and some people are reacting by hoarding supplies in an attempt to feel safe and to feel like they have some level of control in a situation which can feel outside of their control. When we operate from a place of fear, nothing good can happen. In fact, fear is the opposition to experiencing true abundance and optimum outcomes in life.
For anyone who has ever been involved in solving a leadership challenge, whether real or perceived in a team building exercise, would know, that the challenge is always best solved through collaboration, sharing resources and kindness!
However, we tend to start from an ‘every man/woman’ (interchange with team, department etc) for themselves” mentality before quickly realizing this division and scarcity mindset only worsens things, rather than solves anything.
However, we quickly forget the lesson because our fears tend to have a tighter grip on us, than our ability to trust and co-create.
If you take notice, you will also find that we are less kind to ourselves and to others when we are busy, overwhelmed or operating in fear.
We are less inclined to help each other out, to work collaboratively and to share resources; to have time to think about how departments can work effectively together to create better outcomes, because it is quicker to focus on our own patch and priorities that we are assessed against. We don’t have time to let someone merge in front of us in the traffic; allow the person with one or few items in a queue behind, go in front; ask a team member how they are doing or have the time to truly listen to their response.
However, kindness breeds more kindness, hope, trust and better outcomes for all. It can re-script our negative thinking in the moment, remind us that there is a lot of good in the world and can give us a level of optimism that we are all in it together, that things will get better and this time shall pass. When we work kindly and collaboratively together, we come up with the best solutions and ideas for action.
I have been on the receiving end of much kindness recently, where clients have sincerely thanked me for helping them, colleagues and I have swapped our services with the aim of helping each other, friends have appreciated my time, people have offered me a coffee and a shop owner even gave me a cake to try that they hadn’t sold at the end of their day.
Whilst these acts of kindness might seem small in some eyes, to me they made a significant difference to my outlook and overall sense of gratitude. In turn, these acts of kindness had a ripple effect on those I then came into contact with, as I was conscious of continuing the positive impact on others.
So today, I encourage you to perform an act of kindness. It might be that you priortise time with your team member, buy someone a coffee, smile or say hello to someone, give someone a compliment or share resources or collaborate with someone. It could be that you only buy enough toilet paper or take the resources that you need. Notice how you feel when you perform acts of kindness and the wonderful ripple effect they can have. Please feel free to share what you notice, so your kindness can breed more kindness.
