When Kindness Looks Like Leadership

Yesterday, I walked past a sign in a store window that read: “If you can’t do anything else, be kind.”

It stopped me. Because it brought back a memory I’ve never forgotten—a moment of kindness that changed everything.

Years ago, I was a single mother working at a Boys and Girls Club. It had been a roller-coaster year—good, bad, and downright exhausting. I loved my work managing programs that helped children with disabilities thrive alongside their peers. But my first marriage had ended, and as Christmas approached, I was running on empty.

With no vacation time left, I knew I’d have to push through the holiday chaos and keep showing up. But the Executive Director had other plans.

He called me into his office, thanked me for my work — and then told me to go home. Ten days off. Fully paid.

That simple act of kindness not only gave me rest; it reminded me that I was seen, valued, and cared for. At a time when my confidence was fragile, it made all the difference.

Since then, I’ve often reflected on how easily we dismiss kindness as something “soft.” But maybe it’s the strongest force we have—especially right now.

A smile, a kind word, a small gesture… all can shift someone’s day, or even their life. And the beautiful thing? When you offer kindness, you lighten your own load too.

Decades ago, writer Anne Herbert coined the phrase “practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty” — a hopeful inversion of “random acts of violence and senseless acts of cruelty.” It launched a movement built on everyday compassion.

Perhaps it’s time to bring that spirit back.

Let’s think about what the world needs more of—and then do those things, whenever and wherever we can. No permission required. No grand gestures necessary. Just… be kind.

PS If you’d like to get started, why not begin by sharing a simple act of kindness you’ve never forgotten?

#KindnessMatters #LeadershipWithHeart #HumanKind #EmpathyInAction #BetterTogether

Next entry: From Motivational Graffiti to Mild Obsession with Quotes

Previous entry: Planning in a World That Won’t Sit Still