2022 CONFERENCE is a foundation , and you build from there . It would be simplistic to think that I ’ m simply saying ,“ Just go be kind , and everything is going to be fine .”
A guy once told me ,‘ Really , Leon , kindness is simply a portal to human connection .” I thought ,“ Wow , that ’ s brilliant — I ’ m going to steal that !” That is what it ’ s about , right ? It ’ s all simply about becoming more human . It ’ s all simply about seeing each other , and the most beautiful , simple way of doing that is to be kind . You have the foundation , you treat people the way you want to be treated , and there are times when you make mistakes , you ’ re imperfect or you don ’ t do the right
thing . So ? You get back on the wagon , and you keep doing it , because the aim , ultimately , is to connect .
P : How can leaders strike a balance between creating a compassionate workplace culture and making the tough decisions that are part of running a business ? L : I would say to go read a biography of Nelson Mandela , because that was a man whose foundation was one of service , kindness and love . Yet , you ain ’ t going to mess with Nelson Mandela , right ? Some people , they may go too far , where they ’ re so kind that they get taken to the cleaners .
You can ’ t let anyone walk all over you , but at the same time you can ’ t go all the way the other direction . You ’ ve got to have balance .
And again , there ’ s no perfection . No one is perfect , right ? We should all look at ourselves in a more forgiving light . If someone were to look at the worst version of me , they ’ d think ,“ What a jerk !” But that ’ s just the way we ’ re built as human beings . When I ’ m giving speeches , sometimes I ’ ll say to the audience that they have the best version of Leon , and that I promise that if the worst version of Leon was on the stage , they would all leave , and that ’ s the truth ! For some reason , we live in a society where we think that if we ’ re not perfect , there ’ s something wrong with us .
P : We don ’ t often think of it this way , but you ’ ve described kindness as a “ competitive advantage ” in business . What do you mean ? L : It ’ s a competitive advantage because when you treat people with respect , and when you treat people with love and compassion and empathy , they will run further for you . The real competitive advantage is that the people that you work with and the people who work for you will work harder when they feel respected . And , they will be more loyal — they will not stop .
“ What COVID did was give people time to think about their lives , and that time thinking about their lives often present people to say , ‘ Is this where I want to live my life ? I don ’ t think so .’”
APRIL 2022 • PULSE 19