LEADING WITH KINDNESS…
In my career journey, I’ve been fortunate to be a people leader, and I’ve always viewed this seat as a privilege. Why? Not for the titles or anything ego-driven. It has been about achieving more together because, yes, there’s always work to be done, priorities to tackle and organizational goals to achieve. But I’ve also found deep satisfaction in being in a position to empower and positively influence and change the trajectory of someone’s life.
Opening a door that was previously closed
Helping people to realize their potential in ways they couldn’t have imagined
Providing a path to personal discovery, career growth or dreams unfulfilled
With these motivators (and more), my personal philosophy as a leader has been to lead with kindness. And because of this core value, it was refreshing to learn during a recent conference that “kindness” was trending.
Having worked in the hospitality industry for 15 years, I've traveled the world and experienced amazing service at some of the most beautiful properties. My best memories are a result of these experiences where kindness led every interaction. For me, when viewed through the lens of the Golden Rule it really is as simple as treating people with the care, respect and consideration we would want for ourselves (both in our professional and personal lives). When I was invited by The PR Net to share my perspective on “luxury trends” as a luxury marketing and communications leader, quite naturally I chose to tie the trend back to hospitality since that’s the space that I predominantly live, work and play in as a marketer. However, the trend is applicable to any human interaction.
In a world where kindness is sometimes perceived as weakness, I will still choose this path as a guiding principle in how I show up in my daily interactions. It’s how I was raised (and as quiet as it’s kept, you never know what people are dealing with in their daily lives…so why not choose kindness as the default?).
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”