Practice kind leadership with employees: 6 tips and 3 useful examples

It can happen that you have a bad day and are in a bad mood. But it is good to be able to prove to be a kind, polite and respectful person.
In fact, in this article, we see how beneficial it is, in terms of relationships, to be a client or employer who cultivates and welcomes kind leadership.

At Jopla, we believe in kindness and good business relationships, so we want to give you 6 tips and 3 useful examples and help you get positive reviews on our platform (this is our review policy).

If you are an employer or a client of a professional, the advice we give you on kind leadership is valid in both cases. The goal is to accompany you in establishing a good relationship with the people who provide you with services or products. Let’s see how.

Kindness is a value that you can cultivate and train, starting from small daily gestures and behaviors, from simple precautions and from certain methods of communication.
It may be enough, for example, to give and show more attention, or you need to be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Basically, you need to exercise an open attitude towards people.

Being kind at work is also a choice that brings positive results. For example, it helps to consolidate professional relationships and partnerships. In fact, the people to whom you entrust services or products will be happy and satisfied to work for you, and will also be more motivated.
And what’s more, they’ll leave you positive reviews for other professionals to read.

Receiving negative reviews, on the other hand, can discourage other people from working for you.

If you want to train your kindness at work and discover the tips to become a kind leader, continue reading the article.

It may seem trivial to say, but we live in a world where we are always in a hurry and communication is also increasingly instantaneous, especially on chat and social networks. But the time for a greeting is really short, even when ending a phone call or saying goodbye to a person.

So when you relate to a person, in general, not just from a professional point of view, it’s always good to say hello. A simple “hello”, confidential, or a “good morning” is enough.
After the greeting, then, you can then proceed to illustrate the needs and requests regarding the employment relationship.

Thank you is a beautiful word and expresses all the courtesy and gratitude, in fact, even when it comes to responding to a request with a refusal (the famous “thanks, but I’m not interested”).

Even in the workplace it is very important to thank. When the professional has accepted your urgent request, she has expressed a very useful opinion or opinion that made you think, or she has done an excellent job, saying thank you is a very good action. The person will be very happy with this kind gesture.

In an employment relationship, active listening is essential, that is attentive, participatory, and not distracted. Make it clear that you are interested, that you are present, perhaps by nodding, or even with a smile.

The person to whom you have commissioned a service or product, or have entrusted a project, is a professional and therefore has experience and skills in her sector. So if he gives you advice and if he offers you some solutions, because he thinks they are better and more suitable, listen to him and try to consider what he says, trusting him. She will feel welcomed and understood because of your kind demeanor.

If, on the other hand, what she tells you still doesn’t completely convince you, ask questions to understand more and to immediately clarify as many aspects as possible.

The same goes for other details and matters concerning the professional relationship between you and the professional. Listen to each other and immediately clarify the fundamental points so that there are no possible misunderstandings and conflicts to manage.

If a service or product from a professional person has given you satisfaction, let the provider know. Give sincere compliments and communicate what aspects you appreciated. It will be a boost of confidence and self-esteem for this person and they will be grateful to you. If he knows he’s done a good job, maybe he just expects a satisfied reaction from you and, if he doesn’t get it, he’s likely to feel bad.

Feedback, positive or negative, is essential in the professional world. They help those who work to grow, to understand if the direction they are taking is the right one, and how to improve.

Even if you don’t feel much satisfaction with what a professional has given you, don’t hesitate to tell them, but remember to be polite in doing so, maintaining an attitude of constructive criticism. Below in the article we show you a useful example of how to give negative feedback, in a respectful but sincere way.

Empathy is a widely used term, and it means, simply put, the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how people are feeling. Kind leadership practices a lot of empathy, through emotional intelligence (here you can find a definition), to inspire and motivate people and, consequently, to ensure a good working relationship. We will see later, in this article, a useful example of how to exercise it.

In a professional relationship, and more generally in an interpersonal relationship, it is also important not to judge, otherwise the person could take offense. On the contrary, welcome different opinions, identities and characteristics, without placing cultural barriers or those caused by prejudices, perhaps completely unconscious and unintentional. It’s not easy, but empathy and the recognition of prejudices are also these skills that can be trained.

The kind person is usually also humble and places himself in an equal relationship. If, for example, you are using a service or product that you have entrusted to a professional person, considering yourself in a position of superiority is not a strategy that works. Instead, it is good to maintain a humble attitude, because superiority could be seen as a form of arrogance and certainly does not belong to the value of kindness.

Alright, now that we’ve seen the six helpful tips for being courteous to customers and employers by exercising kind leadership, let’s move on to a more concrete plan with helpful examples.

Below we present three short, simple and effective examples of being kind to the people you commission a job from. It’s all about communication and ways.

Find out how.

It can happen that you are not happy and satisfied with a service (there is nothing wrong with it) and, as we have seen, it is useful to communicate this. But how? Is it possible to do it in a kind way? Yes, and in any way: in person, by mail, by chat or in a phone call.

For example, if you want to express dissatisfaction, don’t just say, “I don’t like what you’ve done.” It can be a criticism that is perceived as rude and a little gruff. Try to refine her and give reasons, useful and constructive.

For example, you can say, “I know you’re really good and good at your job, so next time I expect your usual great attention and attention to detail.”

If you do not agree with what the professional you are talking to is proposing to do, it is right that you express it. But it’s better to avoid a dry “no, I don’t want it”.

Also in this case try to motivate and explain yourself, so that the person can also understand and get to know you better in order to offer you a product that is more suitable for you and your needs.

For example, if you’re at the beautician you can tell her assertively: «thanks for the advice, but I don’t feel like this nail gel color is mine. I prefer it more neutral, in line with a slightly sober style. I’m sure you’ll do a great job.”

The unexpected happens. In fact, it can happen that a supplier delays a fundamental delivery for the product/service that you have commissioned from the professional, or that he himself, due to force majeure, cannot complete the work on time.

In both cases there will be a delay in the delivery of the works. Your reaction may be – understandably – a little resentful, because you really need that product or service. But this is the right time to exercise empathy.
So try not to make the person feel guilty, because they too will be sorry for the delay for which they are not responsible. So here’s an example of a kind phrase to say on these occasions: «I’m very sorry for the delay, but I know it’s not your fault and there’s nothing you can do about it, so I’ll wait as long as necessary».

If you found this article on kind leadership helpful, and you want to practice kindness at work by trying these tips, you can find on Jopla professional that you can trust!