David Marques

I am continuing my blog series on the importance of leading with character. I wrote a post about it as much of this recognition comes from my experience and the wisdom imparted by people who have journeyed alongside me. It is our character that holds our moral compass and this series is rooted in biblical principles. I am still learning but I hope with sharing I can continue to grow in these virtues. You can read about the first character here. This post will focus on KINDNESS.

If you have spent any time with me you will know that I see work as more than just an activity with rewards. Work is an extension of who we are as it reflects part of our soul in relationship to others. This is what I try to share in my writings as I see the way we relate to one another as a key to success in the marketplace. This is true with my team and the character of kindness. Let me give you an example.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

In the last few months my team has experienced a few changes to our release timeline. This is in part due to the complexity of the work we are doing as one of the biggest challenges has been integrating a data science model to one of our products. As we move into uncharted territory and learn how to process work for the first time it is easy to make mistakes. These missteps have cost us some precious time. Was I upset? Sure. Did it have an impact on our budget? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean that it was done on purpose. I saw everyone work hard and lean into the work in order to deliver. The truth is that while we try to avoid mistakes through improved planning and testing procedures, the learnings we’ve had from these situations have made us a better team. This growth as a team has come from how we’ve reacted to adversities. Do we blame each other or do we reach out and help one another? This is where kindness comes in. While often not seen as important enough, kindness can be a catalyst for a team to overcome challenges.

True leadership uses kindness when assessing performance. It looks at all that is involved with the team and each individual. It sees value in every person’s contribution and offers grace in an effort to understand why the outcome wasn’t what we expected. In many ways kindness offers a helping hand with no judgement; it sees the intention before the results. Kindness cares for the person behind the work being done.

How do you see KINDNESS as an important leadership character trait? Share and comment below.