Arsenal of Kindness

In the early phases of World War II President Roosevelt described America as the “arsenal of democracy” as he pushed to supply our allies with the necessary war materiel to fight Nazi Germany. He knew the impact our leadership could make on the world.

Effective leadership always makes the difference.

I wonder how leaders today could be an arsenal of kindness in a world of division, violence, ego, prejudice, and fear?

This isn’t a routine “be good to people” post. Rather, I’m wondering if kindness…as an intentional and mandatory behavior…is something that should be infused into leadership expectations at all levels?

A bit radical I know. Maybe a bit on the sappy side as well. I don’t care. When you’ve been treated kindly you know it. When you treat someone else with kindness and experience their reaction it hits differently than flexing your leadership muscle.

Leadership is the dynamic combination of what we say and what we do. When those things align in a positive way, something special happens.

How do you build kindness into your leadership practice?

Are you intentional about staying calm?

Are you intentional about not overreatcting?

Do you go out of your way to connect with others and express genuine kindness?

Or, is business all about revenue and productivity? Both are critical and deserve tremendous focus…but the great thing about the world of work is there is still plenty of room left for us to unleash that arsenal.

Thanks for being here.

Jay