4 ways kindness can give you an edge

by Aug 17, 2015

If you’re an up and comer in the business world, it’s easy to look at someone like Steve Jobs- a well known jerk – and think that you too should act that way to be successful. Not so, my friend. Jobs may have been successful, but he’s the exception to the rule.

Michael Hyatt, a well known coach and former CEO of publisher Thomas Nelson, offers these four reasons kindness can be good for your career:

1. A bully thinks he knows the answers so he won’t get ahead. If you’re focused on winning at all costs you can’t stop and see that other people can and will help you win. If you’re focused on knowing all the answers you won’t create an environment for innovation. You have to open your mind, heart and ears to what the team can offer.

2. A bully hogs the spotlight and takes all the credit. If you’re focused on getting more credit from the higher-ups than your team or peers, then you’re hampering enthusiasm. Everyone needs praise and to feel valued. If you hog all the praise because you’re taking credit for other people’s ideas, then you’re hindering production. You have to acknowledge others when they do something right, and tell the higher ups if a great idea wasn’t your idea.

3. Workplace bullies micromanage and mistreat people. There’s a TON of evidence that empowerment, empathy and respect are what get results. Micromanagement just doesn’t work. Focus on trusting your peers and your team.

4. Workplace bullies don’t set clear expectations. If there’s no clear expectations then people can’t get their work done. Clarity is so, so, so valuable to success of individuals, teams and the company at large. Without it, the team will fail. Be sure your instructions for work assignments are clear, your expectations about performance are clear, and your goals are clear.

Civility is the platform for organizational success—it is absolutely necessary for an organization to reach its goals. Download our Ebook on Seeking Civility to learn more on how to create a workplace free of bullying and abusive conduct.

 
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About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

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