As businesspeople in positions of leadership, we all have the power to affect people by improving the quality of our working environments. These opportunities are present every day and we shouldn’t underestimate their power to ripple into the world on an extremely large scale.

Like the ripple effect of paying it forward through one random act of kindness at a time, a corporate culture that is kind will have knock-on positive benefits within your business.

Growing your company by lifting others

When I met my business partner, I met her as a potential candidate and despite other applicants being more experienced, I was chosen. From that moment, a positive effect began that has lifted me to where I am today. I was treated as capable and given every growth opportunity possible. The valuable gift of faith in my abilities rippled into my life to develop me into the MD that I am today - the co-owner of a globally operating company.

At KVA, we try to create positive ripple effects by having a supportive environment for our team. As a result, employees perform better and deliver a quality of work that excels our Brand Experience agency. A survey about business kindness showed that nearly 90% of respondents felt that a company was more successful when it treated employees and customers with kindness.

The corporate kindness in our business enables everyone to reach their full potential, because when you treat someone as what you believe they can become, those are the shoes they grow to fill.

Personal development through kind leadership

John Maxwell said: "To add value to others, one must first value others." From the onset, our mission at KVA has been to provide a secure, supportive and empowering work environment and to encourage the team to think differently. These core values are like pillars of kindness that each have immense potential to positively affect the individual feelings and performance.

When leaders facilitate kindness within their workplaces at every opportunity, they directly affect their employees’ personal development. It’s a common misconception that many of our actions are insignificant or only impact the here and now. By turning each daily action into an opportunity to be kind, it won’t matter how small your act of kindness is, your positivity will ripple out into the world.

When team members join from other agencies, and especially when they’ve experienced negative workplace culture, they arrive with an ‘us vs them’ mentality, feel reluctant to lower their guard and ensure they keep their own backs covered - all of which negatively impacts their team members as well as their individual path to personal and professional success.

I’m passionate about the positive effect of kindness in business because it influences and uplifts employees to be the best versions of themselves. For this reason, personal development is important to us and is especially close to my heart because of my journey to date and the business leader who took the right chance on me. As leaders we have the power to be people who can help shape the great leaders of tomorrow.

PwC’s CEO survey showed that kindness fosters commitment from an employee. Ensuring everyone in a company is treated kindly and has an equal voice will not only support employees to grow, it will uncover the best business ideas from where you least expect it. And when people make a difference, their commitment to the organisation is strengthened.

Kindness is a tool that you can use to increase your own happiness, the happiness of others, and happiness within your organisation. It facilitates a ripple effect that will benefit your business’ performance, improve employee and customer retention, and at the end of the day, boost your bottom line.