Welcome to The Kind Leader Newsletter #7! Tip #7: Ask about others! Leaders, I have a challenge for you! Please take out a piece of paper, and for each one of your team members, write down one thing that they are passionate about outside of work, and one thing each of them is struggling with. If you find that you don’t know, don’t be surprised. Often, leaders focus solely on business in conversations and meetings…
It’s Monday morning! When you got out of bed, did you feel a sense of dread about the coming day and week? Or a sense of excitement? I’m asking because I’ve been thinking a lot about optimism over the past few weeks. In tough times, it can be even harder to stay optimistic – to believe that things are going to be okay and work our positively – than in regular times. Even super-optimistic people…
Last night, as I watched the first US Presidential ‘debate’ of 2020, my decision about how to cast my vote was solidified. Here’s what I’ve decided. While most people vote for a particular party, political platform, or for a specific candidate, this year I’ll be voting for kindness. Here’s why. Because the way a leader leads – how they do what they do, including what a leader says, has a huge effect on those they…
Welcome to The Kind Leader Newsletter #6 Tip #6: Apologize! A number of years ago I was one of the of the co-leads for an important inter-departmental project. The sponsor, a Vice President, explained the importance of the project and we got to work. Unfortunately, work didn’t go smoothly and there was a lot of arguing among the team-members. The sponsor called us into his office. We all expected to get in trouble. However, instead…
This morning when I woke up it was totally dark! Fall is here and the days are getting shorter. Many of us hoped the pandemic would be over by now. And that things would have gone back to normal. As summer turns into Fall, and extra stresses combined with continuing uncertainty add up, it can be hard to stay motivated. Some days it can even feel difficult to just get up out of bed and…
Welcome to The Kind Leader Newsletter #5! Tip #5: Assume Positive Intent! As a leader, how often do you catch yourself thinking something like: “The weekly productivity report is late again! No matter how many times I say I NEED that report first thing Monday morning, they never get it to me on time. They never get anything right. I just don’t know what’s wrong with them.” Maybe you have those types of thoughts so…
A special welcome to new Africa Continent Director Karidja Sakanogo! Karidja will be bringing the work of The Love and Kindness Project Foundation to Africa…in French and English! We are extremely thankful for Karidja’s kindness in helping us! More news about this soon!
This week, I’ve heard a lot of people judging themselves harshly. “It didn’t work out as I thought that it would, even though I did my best. Why am I so useless?” “I finally got up the courage to try something new and no one liked it. I wish I’d never tried it.” “I chose to take care of myself instead of others and it seems too self-centered.” And over and over again “I’m a…
My son is recovering from COVID-19. He got it from the restaurant he worked in. Although some customers wore masks, many didn’t. Some believed that the pandemic was a hoax. Others that it was real, but they were tired of following all the new procedures and safety protocols. They just wanted to get back to their normal, ‘regular’ life. They had, what they called, ‘mask fatigue’. Turn on the news, scroll through social media and…
Welcome to The Kind Leader Newsletter #4! Tip #4: Let others go first. As a team member, have you ever been excited to go to your one-on-one meeting with your manager, only to find that fifty-five out of the sixty minutes are taken up by them telling you all about their work instead of listening to you? Even when the stated purpose of the meeting is to hear how you are doing and what YOU…
