One of the greatest professional experiences I ever had was working for a hospice program as a grief counselor. The purpose of the grief department was to support those closest to the patients for at least the first year after their deaths. Standards of care were in place by the hospice model, and we carried those out, but we were also encouraged to be innovative and find more ways to impact our typical clientele as well as all aged clients and those grieving deaths not associated with hospice.
This was a wonderful way to create and broaden our impact which felt really good!
We came up with programs for children, including “Katie & Quincy Koalas ~ The Koalas That Care About Kids,” and a fully stocked play therapy room for those children who needed regular counseling support.
We also became a community resource center for those experiencing grief due to non-hospice related deaths, like car accidents, suicides, heart attacks, industrial accidents, murders, etc. We also partnered with media outlets, training them on the best way to report news stories involving death and grief. We received national recognition for this innovation.
Not every idea we had was utilized. Every day wasn’t easy or perfect. But we knew we were respected for our contribution, training, and creativity. We knew what we were doing mattered. This all felt so good and kept us loyal to the organization long term.
Kindness at work isn’t about being a pushover, and it’s not just about singing 'Happy Birthday' or bringing donuts to the break room. It’s a competitive business strategy.
One of the myths of kindness is that "nice guys finish last" or that corporate culture requires ruthlessness to succeed.
True kindness is about respect, psychological safety, and intentional support. When employees feel valued, performance skyrockets.
When people are treated with incivility, their cognitive focus narrows, and creativity plummets. People don’t leave bad jobs; they leave toxic environments & ineffective leaders. Kindness builds loyalty and positively affects the bottom line.
High-trust teams take smarter risks because they aren't afraid of being ridiculed for making a mistake. Lower workplace stress means fewer sick days and less burnout.
Workplace kindness manifests in daily micro-moments.
Pillar 1: Active Recognition
Go beyond a generic "thanks."
Be specific: "Hey Sarah, thank you for how you handled that difficult client call yesterday. Your patience really saved the account."
Pillar 2: Constructive Accountability
Reframe feedback. It is unkind to let someone fail quietly.
Kindness means giving clear, honest feedback with the genuine intent to help the other person grow, not to penalize them.
Pillar 3: Micro-Inclusions
Small actions with massive impact: loop a quiet colleague into a meeting discussion
Credit someone for an idea they passed to you
Respect people's time boundaries by not sending non-urgent emails at midnight.
I invite you to choose one of the following actions to complete within the next 24 hours:
Send an unexpected, highly specific note of appreciation to a peer or direct report.
In your next meeting, explicitly credit someone whose contribution might have been overlooked.
Check in on a coworker who has been under heavy stress—not to ask about a deliverable, but simply to ask, "How are you doing, and is there anything I can take off your plate today?
Kindness is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger your culture becomes.
As the leader, you are the tone-setter, the role model, for respecting your teams, showing your support, and inviting their unique set of skills, education, and initiative to blossom to grow the company stronger together.
Ask yourself how you can go and change the energy in your workspace today.
You will be so glad you did!
(If you have questions or would like greater support, email me at cindy@cindysmarsh.com, to schedule a consultation.)
