Is kindness a virtue or handicap in business?Some people may argue that if you’re not kind (meaning emphatic or try to put yourself in your customer’s shoes) they’ll get more upset with you. How many customer service complaints could be avoided (or the intensity reduced) by a person who loves helping people? Nothing is too much trouble for them. They don’t make the customer FEEL wrong for making a complaint. They try their best to resolve it to their satisfaction. Is that kindness or being a doormat for the customer to walk all over them?

The 2015 remake of the old classic “Cinderella” had a new distinction. In one of the songs and quotes by Cinderella, she said “Be Kind and Courageous.” As if the two go together. Does it take courage to be kind? Perhaps. In a dog-eat-dog world, you will stick out like a sore thumb.

For a manager, it’s not easy to keep this balance. To be kind to your staff and yet be respected enough for them to do their jobs well. Some people swear by the idea of treating their staff with kindness. Some people do this well. Others don’t. If they’re too soft, people will walk over them and take advantage of their kindness. I guess, each of us will need to experiment with how we handle it. It takes skill, courage and leadership skills.