Kindness in the Workplace
Effective communication is critical for success in any field, especially in business where your ability to listen, understand, connect and share ideas is paramount to everyday productivity.
But effective communication isn’t easy. It requires patience, courage, awareness, empathy and thoughtfulness, but most of all, kindness.
Learn what motivates people and how human beings are wired and you can become a master communicator. Human beings have an animal heritage; the animal is programmed to survive. As a self-protective mechanism, the animal within us gets defensive easily. We want to feel safe and secure, and if we feel challenged, we’ll likely to challenge back in some way.
But attacks often backfire. A subordinate might do what you command in the moment, but over time, open communication and trust erodes, leaving a dysfunctional organization in its wake.
Avoid directing negativity at others whenever possible. Criticizing or condemning others is an easy way to sever open communication. It also guarantees you’ll lose influence. Remember, if you set up the conditions for your colleague to get defensive, you both lose.
Don’t cut down other people’s ideas. Respect the opinions of others—even if you don’t agree. Without respect, there’s no trust. Without trust, there’s no effective communication and influence. Statements like “You’re wrong,” or “You don’t know what you’re talking about” will not help you win friends and influence people.
When you need to provide constructive criticism, talk about your own mistakes first, or call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly. Whenever possible, let the other person catch his own mistakes by asking thoughtful questions that will help expose the error.
Ultimately, to communicate effectively you have to be kind—not a pushover or narcissistically sensitive, just kind and respectful to your fellow co-worker.
There’s another benefit to kindness: It leads to a much more enjoyable workday!
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