| It’s not empathy.
It’s not collaboration.
It’s not even authenticity.
It’s kindness.
A few months ago, I was driving into Chicago, listening to NPR, half paying attention, when a segment about kindness made me turn up the volume.
I expected another conversation about self-care … setting better boundaries, protecting your energy, scheduling massages.
And listen, I believe in self-care. Massages, pedicures, and food delivery keep me sane.
But the research surprised me.
Newsflash: The fastest path to better mental and physical health isn’t more self-care … it’s being kind to someone else.
Psychologist Naomi Eisenberger studied socially isolated individuals during COVID and found that performing acts of kindness, random or planned, outperformed traditional self-care across measurable outcomes.
Acts of kindness were linked to:
- Improved mental health
- Reduced depression and anxiety
- Lower cardiovascular stress
- Reduced loneliness
- Reduced inflammation
- Increased antiviral responses
Another Newsflash On Kindness
Kindness is not the same as niceness.
Niceness can be strategic. It can be a way to manage perception, avoid conflict, or stay safe in your career. It can also be … Protective. Performative. Disingenuous.
Niceness doesn’t change dysfunctional corporate cultures. It reinforces them.
Kindness is different.
Kindness is a belief about contribution.
It’s intentional.
Kindness doesn’t require you to be inauthentic or abandon your values.
This distinction matters in your career.
And it matters especially in corporate environments that have been built on, and continue to uphold, rewarding image management over impact.
Kindness creates safety without shrinking power.
It challenges culture without hostility.
One of the big reasons … kindness doesn’t just impact two people.
Research by Jonathan Haidt shows there are always three participants:
- The Giver
- The Receiver
- The Observer
And the observer determines whether kindness scales inside a team or organization.
If you are the observer of kindness and you:
Roll your eyes → the kindness vibe stops.
Ignore it → there is no positive impact.
Call it out → the Kindness Ripple Effect begins. When you give a shout out to someone who pushed back on an idea that needed more discussion, when you acknowledge someone’s contribution to a project, or when you simply say, “I noticed what you did there. Thank you for doing that,” you have started a ripple.
The observer:
- Helps define the behavioral standard by modeling kind
- Decides whether kindness becomes contagious or isolated
- Counters cynicism through embracing kindness
- Increases connection and collaboration
Kindness improves the giver.
It improves the recipient.
And when acknowledged, it will contribute to changing a work culture, so it works for everyone! That’s impact.
Kindness:
- Builds trust faster than competence alone
- Reduces stress (for you and others)
- Increases collaboration
- Creates psychological safety
- Shifts what people believe is possible on a team
You don’t change outdated culture with slogans.
You change it by amplifying what you want repeated.
Kindness isn’t soft.
It’s the leadership skill that reshapes culture over time.
Three Things You Can Do This Week
1. Be the Giver
- Write that LinkedIn Recommendation.
- Offer the specific praise.
- Check in without an agenda.
Small acts shift your focus from threat to contribution. That alone changes how you lead.
2. Notice When You Receive Kindness
- Don’t deflect it.
- Pause. Name it. Let it land.
Receiving kindness reinforces trust and strengthens connection.
3. Be the Observer
- Call it out when you see it.
“I want to acknowledge how you handled that.”
“That was generous.”
Our Kindness Rally Cry:
We come together in Kindness.
We amplify what we want normalized.
We are changing work culture so it works for everyone!
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