Kindness is a Strength, Not a Weakness

Kindness is a strength, not a weakness. A lot of people disagree with me on this one: There are books written about “No More Mr. Nice Guy”. When I’m speaking to an audience, when I mention the value and importance of kindness I can literally see about 10 to 15% of the audience roll their eyes at me and tune me out. I can almost hear their thoughts: “Here’s another motivational do-gooder who is not connected to the reality of business.” Kids are taught by society and their peers that being mean is “cool”, and being nice is “weird”.

If this was just my opinion, then I wouldn’t have much of an argument here. But it’s not just my opinion. Over the last 6 years, I’ve been to five different continents and have personally spoken to more than seven hundred experts, business leaders, and politicians. I asked them about the key qualities essential to success and authentic leadership. Every single one of them touched on, in their own way, the importance of being kind to others, not speaking down to people, and treating everyone like an equal. Far from theoretical, my life’s research has shown that the people who lead their industries, change the world, and make a real difference are some of the kindest people in the world.

I’m fully aware that as I continue to spread this message, I’ll continue to get laughed at by some. The laughter is not personal to me — it stems from the fact that being mean to others is deeply ingrained into the psyche of our culture. But it’s time for that to change.

Jeff Davis is the author of three books, including The Power of Authentic Leadership.