Kindness in leadership

Has the world gone soft or is kindness a leadership trait of the future?

Baroness Virginia Bottomley, Chair of the Board & CEO Practice at Odgers Berndtson and Hannah Peech, Head of the Corporate Affairs Practice at Odgers Berndtson, discuss the value of being a kind leader.

The words traditionally associated with leadership might be courageous, tenacious, visionary or heroic; so how has the current debate about kindness in leadership emerged? What does kindness mean?

Shakespeare claimed kindness to be an innate sense of compassion – ‘the milk of human kindness’. Benevolence and sympathy shown to others. Darwin, in his study of human evolution suggested that sympathy and caring for others are instinctual. Affection, gentleness, warmth, concern, and care are all words associated with kindness.

Is kindness in leaders a new phenomenon? Consider Earnest Shackleton, the great Antarctic explorer. A supremely resilient individual, Shackleton was noted for his care and obsession with the well-being of his men. Beginning their long march across the ice floes, dragging three lifeboats with them, Shackleton watched his crew to see if any man looked sickly. If someone looked to be suffering, Shackleton would call for a break and give hot milk to all the crew, never letting the crew member who was most in need know it was for his benefit. Shackleton embodied kindness in leadership.

Are we uncomfortable with the terminology of kindness? McKinsey this year identified four qualities critical for business leaders caring for people in a crisis: ‘empathy, compassion, awareness and vulnerability’. How different from Winston Churchill’s bold, visionary, courageous and visible leadership during World War II. There is a distinct introversion in how we expect our leaders to respond – and a distinct unease for those used to a command and control model of leadership, to be asked to become ‘vulnerable’.

We expect more than ever from our leaders. The prioritisation of kindness requires a new definition of leadership. Odgers Berndtson’s Leadership Confidence Index details a crisis of confidence among business leaders facing today’s disruptive forces, most notably the pace of change. Covid-19 has exasperated an already frustrated generation who have great expectations for responsible capitalism and healing social inequality. Yet this altruistic thinking must be balanced with business reality – and here we find the ultimate leadership challenge.

A recent Harvard Business review on compassionate leadership argued that ‘if your team demonstrates a desire to share power, your humility can encourage more dense and frequent information exchange and promote creativity. In teams where the unequal distribution of power is accepted, members are likely to expect you to take charge and make important decisions. Showing weakness through humility can be destructive’. We have all witnessed ‘bonfires of goodwill’ where focus on kindness is counterproductive. How many commercial executives leave their business heads at the door when chairing not-for-profit Board meetings? So concerned are we about offending other ‘kind’ executives we may spend half the meeting saying hello. Particularly in crisis, effective kind leaders must simultaneously take a hard, rational line to protect financial performance from the softness that accompanies business disruption.

As head-hunters we continually evaluate leadership potential. Our interest is less assessing the kindness of a leader, more how they have, or have not, been able to adjust their style and approach to suit the demands of stakeholders for the benefit of the organisation they represent. To be kind is not soft – it is hard. It takes courage, it takes humility. It can be achieved. Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand said that kindness, and not being afraid to be kind, was the quality that underpinned her path to leadership. ‘Over time we’ve placed so much emphasis on notions of assertiveness and strength – that we probably have assumed that it means you can’t have those other qualities of kindness and empathy. And yet, when you think about all the big challenges that we face in the world, that’s probably the quality we need the most.’

When responsible for the NHS in the early 90s, I was acutely aware of the leadership challenge, though I would be the first to argue that leadership in the NHS is distributed from the CEO to Trust and Health Authority chiefs through to those on the wards. The challenge is how to motivate, empower and engage a million people each day to give their best at work. A disenchanted work force may contribute 80% of their effort: a motivated team amazingly may deliver a 120% contribution; and it is precious little to do with remuneration. People want to be treated fairly, believe that they are empowered to fulfil their potential and above all that they work for a virtuous organisation: a business that has a noble purpose, that does good and behaves ethically. Kindness from frontline staff for patients comes from the way they are treated – they need leaders to be kind and empathetic with them and care about their overall wellbeing. Empathy may be associated with social care roles, it is also critical in business. Kester Scrope, Odgers Berndtson’s CEO commented ‘people need to see genuine empathy and understanding for their position if they are to trust. Trust is a critical component of leadership – people will not wholeheartedly follow someone they mistrust.’

Communication is a key theme. I talked about “caring, costing and communicating”. Of course the NHS and social care agencies are there to care for their patients, but with limited finance and potentially almost infinite demand, costing carefully becomes a critical component of maximising the care delivered within the budget. Leaders need to communicate to every level of an organisation, not only purpose and vision, but why tough decisions have to be taken. To do that effectively requires empathy, understanding and recognition of the work force’s concerns with all the diversity of age, gender, ethnicity and so forth. Kindness in leadership really matters.
Kindness in leadership is not a new philosophy. It is not the missing piece of the leadership jigsaw. It has always existed. Many leaders are intrinsically kind, yet view this as a personal quality, not one to display or promote. Yet never before has kindness been sought so keenly, critically examined by the rising tide of millennials and Generation Z who place values above profits. Kindness is the face of a more purposeful business agenda. Leaders must become comfortable projecting kindness – the language, the humility, the thoughtfulness. Kindness is no longer a word in a HR folder labelled ‘culture’. It is a trait which will define leaders of the future.

Baroness Virginia Bottomley
Chair of the Board & CEO Practice at Odgers Berndtson
https://www.odgersberndtson.com/en-gb
LinkedIn: Odgers Berndtson
Facebook: @odgersberndtson
Twitter: @odgersberndtson

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Kindness in leadership

Has the world gone soft or is kindness a leadership trait of the future?

Baroness Virginia Bottomley, Chair of the Board & CEO Practice at Odgers Berndtson and Hannah Peech, Head of the Corporate Affairs Practice at Odgers Berndtson, discuss the value of being a kind leader.

The words traditionally associated with leadership might be courageous, tenacious, visionary or heroic; so how has the current debate about kindness in leadership emerged? What does kindness mean?

Shakespeare claimed kindness to be an innate sense of compassion – ‘the milk of human kindness’. Benevolence and sympathy shown to others. Darwin, in his study of human evolution suggested that sympathy and caring for others are instinctual. Affection, gentleness, warmth, concern, and care are all words associated with kindness.

Is kindness in leaders a new phenomenon? Consider Earnest Shackleton, the great Antarctic explorer. A supremely resilient individual, Shackleton was noted for his care and obsession with the well-being of his men. Beginning their long march across the ice floes, dragging three lifeboats with them, Shackleton watched his crew to see if any man looked sickly. If someone looked to be suffering, Shackleton would call for a break and give hot milk to all the crew, never letting the crew member who was most in need know it was for his benefit. Shackleton embodied kindness in leadership.

Are we uncomfortable with the terminology of kindness? McKinsey this year identified four qualities critical for business leaders caring for people in a crisis: ‘empathy, compassion, awareness and vulnerability’. How different from Winston Churchill’s bold, visionary, courageous and visible leadership during World War II. There is a distinct introversion in how we expect our leaders to respond – and a distinct unease for those used to a command and control model of leadership, to be asked to become ‘vulnerable’.

We expect more than ever from our leaders. The prioritisation of kindness requires a new definition of leadership. Odgers Berndtson’s Leadership Confidence Index details a crisis of confidence among business leaders facing today’s disruptive forces, most notably the pace of change. Covid-19 has exasperated an already frustrated generation who have great expectations for responsible capitalism and healing social inequality. Yet this altruistic thinking must be balanced with business reality – and here we find the ultimate leadership challenge.

A recent Harvard Business review on compassionate leadership argued that ‘if your team demonstrates a desire to share power, your humility can encourage more dense and frequent information exchange and promote creativity. In teams where the unequal distribution of power is accepted, members are likely to expect you to take charge and make important decisions. Showing weakness through humility can be destructive’. We have all witnessed ‘bonfires of goodwill’ where focus on kindness is counterproductive. How many commercial executives leave their business heads at the door when chairing not-for-profit Board meetings? So concerned are we about offending other ‘kind’ executives we may spend half the meeting saying hello. Particularly in crisis, effective kind leaders must simultaneously take a hard, rational line to protect financial performance from the softness that accompanies business disruption.

As head-hunters we continually evaluate leadership potential. Our interest is less assessing the kindness of a leader, more how they have, or have not, been able to adjust their style and approach to suit the demands of stakeholders for the benefit of the organisation they represent. To be kind is not soft – it is hard. It takes courage, it takes humility. It can be achieved. Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand said that kindness, and not being afraid to be kind, was the quality that underpinned her path to leadership. ‘Over time we’ve placed so much emphasis on notions of assertiveness and strength – that we probably have assumed that it means you can’t have those other qualities of kindness and empathy. And yet, when you think about all the big challenges that we face in the world, that’s probably the quality we need the most.’

When responsible for the NHS in the early 90s, I was acutely aware of the leadership challenge, though I would be the first to argue that leadership in the NHS is distributed from the CEO to Trust and Health Authority chiefs through to those on the wards. The challenge is how to motivate, empower and engage a million people each day to give their best at work. A disenchanted work force may contribute 80% of their effort: a motivated team amazingly may deliver a 120% contribution; and it is precious little to do with remuneration. People want to be treated fairly, believe that they are empowered to fulfil their potential and above all that they work for a virtuous organisation: a business that has a noble purpose, that does good and behaves ethically. Kindness from frontline staff for patients comes from the way they are treated – they need leaders to be kind and empathetic with them and care about their overall wellbeing. Empathy may be associated with social care roles, it is also critical in business. Kester Scrope, Odgers Berndtson’s CEO commented ‘people need to see genuine empathy and understanding for their position if they are to trust. Trust is a critical component of leadership – people will not wholeheartedly follow someone they mistrust.’

Communication is a key theme. I talked about “caring, costing and communicating”. Of course the NHS and social care agencies are there to care for their patients, but with limited finance and potentially almost infinite demand, costing carefully becomes a critical component of maximising the care delivered within the budget. Leaders need to communicate to every level of an organisation, not only purpose and vision, but why tough decisions have to be taken. To do that effectively requires empathy, understanding and recognition of the work force’s concerns with all the diversity of age, gender, ethnicity and so forth. Kindness in leadership really matters.
Kindness in leadership is not a new philosophy. It is not the missing piece of the leadership jigsaw. It has always existed. Many leaders are intrinsically kind, yet view this as a personal quality, not one to display or promote. Yet never before has kindness been sought so keenly, critically examined by the rising tide of millennials and Generation Z who place values above profits. Kindness is the face of a more purposeful business agenda. Leaders must become comfortable projecting kindness – the language, the humility, the thoughtfulness. Kindness is no longer a word in a HR folder labelled ‘culture’. It is a trait which will define leaders of the future.

Baroness Virginia Bottomley
Chair of the Board & CEO Practice at Odgers Berndtson
https://www.odgersberndtson.com/en-gb
LinkedIn: Odgers Berndtson
Facebook: @odgersberndtson
Twitter: @odgersberndtson

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