Kindness: the strengths advantage

Kindness is about doing good for others

Offering help, support, and care without expecting anything in return. That’s kindness

For product and transformation leaders, it’s the strength that builds trust, strengthens relationships, and creates the conditions for high performance

At the senior Head of, Director, General Manager, and C-Suite levels, kindness creates the conditions for psychological safety and genuine collaboration

Examples of underuse. A General Manager in Transformation may appear transactional, focusing only on delivery metrics whilst ignoring the human impact of change. A Chief Product Officer who fails to support struggling teams and keeps pushing them to deliver more with less risks creating disengagement and turnover at critical moments when they can’t afford it

Examples of optimal use. A Vice President in Enterprise Technology who applies kindness well might take the time to coach individuals through new structures and new roles to ensure they feel supported and capable. A Product Director who demonstrates kindness by recognising the personal sacrifices their teams made during high-stakes situations builds loyalty, resilience, and promotes discretionary effort

Examples of overuse. Kindness taken too far can become enabling. A Head of Engineering who avoids holding underperformers accountable in the name of kindness risks lowering standards. A Change Director who prioritises being liked over making tough calls may delay critical decisions and undermine transformation outcomes

The sweet spot is kindness that supports without compromising standards or diminishing accountability. Product and transformation leaders who use this strength well create cultures of trust, resilience, and performance

Research shows that leaders who know, apply, and maximise their strengths experience higher resilience, stronger influence, and improved performance outcomes. Kindness is just one of the 24 strengths that we explore in The Strengths Advantage

The Strengths Advantage

Book your team into the half-day workshop to reframe kindness as a performance strategy, or choose the 90-minute 1:1 leader session to inspect how kindness contributes to your own performance and wellbeing