"I've learned that people may forget what you said or what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel."— Maya Angelou
We are currently going through a period of transition that requires shifts in paradigms, habits, and behaviors. In fact, today more than ever, soft skills and leadership are closely linked.
Among the qualities most sought after in today’s leaders, a disposition toward kindness certainly stands out, as Riccarda Zezza of *Il Sole 24 Ore* also points out in “Today we need very strong leaders… who are incredibly approachable.”
Gentle Leadership
Being a kind leader leads to the creation of positive workplaces where every employee feels valued, without leaving anyone behind. This environment fosters greater trust and teamwork, as well as increased productivity and better business results for the organization. This is, in fact, confirmed by research from the Academy of Management.
So, it’s clear from various perspectives that, in this particular historical period, it’s not just qualities like influence, organization, or time management that are needed—rather, we must increasingly cultivate the abilities to listen, empathize, and be kind. And in this way, kindness becomes a true strength!
Positive feedback
To foster this atmosphere and be a good leader within your organization, one strategy you can adopt is positive feedback, which leads to the mechanism—cherished by behaviorism—of positive reinforcement: that is, the association of a positive “additional” element with a specific behavior, which, as a result, will be repeated by the person exhibiting that behavior. Therefore, providing feedback on the actions or results achieved by the members of your team is something to which you should pay close attention and devote time, in order to improve your communication skills, thereby inspiring those around you and fostering in them the desire to repeat that positive behavior.
However, a good leader today is not only someone who knows how to give feedback but also someone who seeks it out, fostering a true “feedback culture” within their organization. According to Joel Constable — Talent Development Leader—people very often have difficulty providing feedback to their team for two main reasons:
1. People are concerned that their feedback isn't relevant
2. People are worried that the other person doesn't trust them enough to share their feedback.
That is why a leader who demonstrates kindness, empathy, and the ability to listen can help people, the corporate culture, and the organization itself grow.
Because your success as a leader depends on the success of your team:
It doesn’t matter how successful you’ve been in the past; your current role will be defined by the success of the people in your company. The strongest communities are the most resilient, inspiring, and high-performing. Building a community of individuals is the first step toward successful leadership, and to do so, you need to focus on behaviors such as kind feedback, gratitude, empathy, and active listening:
“You can only lead people who choose to work for you, and those people want to know that you care enough about them to invest in their success.”
If you want to get the most out of your training to develop leadership and soft skills, we’ve created a dedicated program within hi – habit inspiring platform featuring the Agile Leadership Coaching Plan.
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