Just a few years ago, how you treated the people you worked with didn’t make front-page news. What a difference a couple of years make. In 2014, a notorious U.S.A. magazine publisher famously fired their first female appointed managing editor. Though the core issue centered on a pay gap between the editor and her male predecessor, a bigger story emerged when her former coworkers revealed horror stories of working under her “brusque management style.”
The old adage “nice guys finish last” is simply outdated. Generosity and gaining allies pays off. Think of the hugely successful television show Survivor, now in its 33rd season. In order to win the game, players must align themselves with fellow contestants so they aren’t voted off.
Kindness as a strategy goes beyond savvy commercial practice. Showing genuine care and appreciation to the people who work for us and with us makes us feel more connected. It appeals to our inner motivation to increase others’ welfare.
Silver IBO Clive Campbell recently expressed how putting others first contributed to his LifePharm Business success. “I think it’s important to think of others before yourself. The LifePharm Products fulfill a need and by sharing them, I am helping fulfill that need and improve lives. I also enjoy working the LifePharm Opportunity because of the personal and professional support LifePharm provides their IBOs. Their customer service is excellent and I know I can count on them if I encounter any problems or have questions.”
People who are kind to others become happier as a result. Studies show happy people score higher on their motivation to perform and are more likely to recognize and enact kind behaviors. The more they acknowledge their own kind gestures and experience the gratitude of others, the more positive, energized and generous they feel.
LifePharm IBO Conrad Neufville, also recently ranked Silver, says “In order to advance to Silver rank, I found others with the same ambitions and goals to be part of my LifePharm team. I then worked with those people to find others to create another generation of our team. Finally, I encouraged all my team members to have group meetings in order to promote the LifePharm Products to the public.”
People want those who lead them to have their best interests at heart, and they reward this behavior with greater loyalty and discretionary effort. Compassion in managers and leaders can involve holding hard conversations. Ask your downline how they rate you as a sponsor. What could you be doing better? Be prepared for their responses, good and bad.
Preparedness to engage in authentic, honest exchanges coupled with genuine curiosity, care and willingness to go out of our way for others makes for a kind and compassionate leader.
Even small gestures and acts of kindness send powerful messages that connect us with inner values and balance the task, goal and profit focus of our daily work lives. People who go out of their way to be kind to others, even in small ways, help show us how.