In the world of business, kindness is regarded as weakness?so the development of it as a leadership trait is sorely overlooked. It turns out however, that being kind is a crucial attribute of some of the world's most successful business leaders?leaders whose success is anchored in their integrity, credibility, vision, insight, inclusion, and fairness. And kindness is not some intangible quality that one either "has" or doesn't, it is a combination of quantifiable, learnable, and refinable traits and skills.

Leading with Kindness identifies six ingredients of kindness - compassion, integrity, gratitude, authenticity, humility, and humor that are absolutely essential to powerful leadership. This audiobook also points out obstacles to each of the six qualities, and offers real-world, everyday management and leadership approaches that build and demonstrate each one.

You are not a respected leader simply because you are nice, fun, and non-threatening. But if you are truly kind, genuinely committed to the welfare of your company and your people through thick and thin?you will reap the benefits of trust, honesty, commitment, and loyalty from the seeds of kindness you have sown.

After slow-moving introductions read by the authors, Jim Bond's energetic pace is a refreshing change for this kinder, gentler management lesson. He knows how to crank up the intensity when the material demands it and, without losing his audience, tone it down when the sentences just need to be read. The authors' message on leadership is steeped in the ideology of social science and full of insights about the value of integrity, humility, gratitude, and authenticity. The work is a welcome primer on how leaders are more effective when they treat people like individuals instead of machines. Though the authors' language often makes them sound more like mental health professionals than productivity experts, the appeal of their ideas is strengthened by their humanitarian sensibilities. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

 

WILLIAM F. BAKER is Chief Executive Officer of Educational Broadcasting Corp (Thirteen/WNET and WL1W21). He is Executive in Residence at Columbia University Business School.

Leading with Kindness by William F. Baker
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