Back in the summer Hall & Partners conducted a survey of 1500 global employees that considered the subject of kindness in leadership.
It was interesting to read this report within the context of the COVID-19 crisis and see how characteristics have changed over the recent months. The findings demonstrated how courage changed from the least to the most important characteristic, when comparing a crisis to ‘normal’ work scenarios. The survey also revealed that over a third (38%) of UK workers consider optimism to be the most important leadership quality when recovering from a crisis, and this is supported by almost a third (32%) of the global workforce.
Headlines:
- In everyday life courageousness is the lowest ranked attribute at just 7%, however this reverses completely in a crisis, with both courage and resilience coming out on top. This indicates how the current pandemic has redefined kindness and create a tougher stance that is needed for future leadership success.
- Almost three quarters (74%) of people agree it’s more important to be adaptable rather than rallying, suggesting the workforce looks to leaders to respond effectively, rather than expecting outright motivational talk when in the middle of navigating a crisis.
- 62% of employees said it’s more important to be optimistic rather than candid and 69% agree it’s more important to be resilient rather than compassionate. This indicates the traditional ‘softer’ view of kindness takes on different forms as crises develop over time and people change what they look to their leaders for in recovery.
- With 58% of the global workforce believing that the kind actions taken by their company during this crisis has made them want to stay for longer than they originally planned, this indicates the power of kinder human responses in establishing greater employee engagement and loyalty.
- With 45% of employees worldwide saying they want more flexible work options this suggests greater flexibility, made possible by the pandemic, will also be key to retaining individuals during this next recovery phase. Global calls for long-term change are being led by employees from both sides of the Atlantic, as the British (49%) and American workforce (53%) lead rising demands for permanent flexible work arrangements.
- The second most important requirement of future workplace kindness is to receive regular updates on company plans.
