Summary
Jenny Haase, founder of Kindness from the Heart, proves that kindness isn’t just nice to have—it’s a business superpower that creates measurable impact when intentionally woven into workplace culture and leadership practices. Through real stories and practical strategies, she shows how small acts of recognition, authentic relationships, and values-driven leadership can transform organizations and create legacies that transcend generations.
Transcript
00:00:00 Natalie
Welcome to the A Better Paradigm Podcast where we inspire individuals from all walks of business to create a better workplace. Welcome to the podcast. Today, I am joined by Jenny Haase, founder of Kindness from the Heart and overall kindness ambassador. Kindness from the Heart’s goal is to amplify kindness, holding keynotes, workshops, and other initiatives to help accomplish this.
What really struck me was how this passion project started with a series of gifts. Jenny, can you share that story with us?
00:00:35 Jenny
I would be happy to, and Natalie, thank you so much for hosting me here today. I’m delighted to be with you.
Yeah, so about, gosh, it’s been about six years ago now, I started feeling called to help inspire more kindness in the world because I was concerned about the world beginning to become much, much more divisive and polarized. It just felt like we needed to have more kindness.
And along that, about that same time, my mom was getting ready to have her 91st birthday. When she turned 90, we had had a big community and family celebration, so I thought, what do I do? You know, what do we do for 91?
And Christmas morning, just before she turned 91, I just had this shot of inspiration. And, you know, I love gifts and inspire kindness. So I thought, I will invite people to do an act of kindness in her honor to celebrate her birthday because my mom is—she just has quite a legacy of kindness in the way that she leads her life. And what better way to celebrate her birthday? So do an act of kindness in her honor, write it up, send it to me. I’ll put it together in a book and gave that book to her for her 91st birthday.
And in that book, there were just so many wonderful acts of kindness from people that knew her, people that even didn’t know her from around the world. And there were 133 acts of kindness that were completed in her honor, and that’s even really hard to quantify because the way that kindness ripples out. But that was the best I could do to quantify.
Some of the acts were things like a woman in Chicago who was outside going in to order a cup of coffee at a coffee bar. And there was a homeless man that was outside, and it was a cold windy Chicago day, and he asked her if she would buy him a cup of hot chocolate. So she did, and she invited him in and they had this wonderful conversation as they were waiting for the order.
And she asked if he wanted anything else and he wanted a chocolate chip bagel. And, you know, just through the time that they were waiting and communicating with each other, they were connecting as human beings heart to heart. She learned more about him and his love for laughing and sense of humor. And then he lived in a bike garage.
And when she shared it with my friend Carol, she said, you know, he was delighted by the extra shot of cocoa or chocolate that he got in his hot chocolate. But I was really touched by connecting with someone heart to heart, you know, in that moment. I was just blown away by the thought of, wow, you know, on mom’s birthday there are people around the world that are thinking about “Am I creating a legacy of kindness and how can I do more to do so?”
So there were lots of beautiful things that came through that. And since that time, when I shared it with my mom—and this is at the very beginning of COVID—she was so touched by it that she decided she would do an act of kindness for each of the 133 acts of kindness that were done in her honor. So that started to ripple and amplify.
And then I shared the initiative with a group that was attending a virtual table with me when I was hosting at KindFest USA, and one of the people attending was really inspired and he decided he would do 133 acts of kindness. So from that one gift, you know, came 400 different acts and it’s still rippling on because I’ll have people reach out and say, you know, “Hey, I love that idea. Do you mind if I borrow it?” And it’s like, please absolutely do.
Great way to honor someone that you love for their birthday. Great way to honor somebody celebrating an anniversary. It’s a great way in a company—instead of, you know, when somebody’s retiring, maybe ask people to do an act of kindness in their honor and put it together and share it in a book to give to that person. There’s lots of ways to give gifts that inspire kindness that way.
00:04:46 Natalie
That’s so beautiful. I love that story. And I’m so glad that our listeners got to hear it too. So you talk about creating a legacy of kindness. Can you explain what that is and how you think we can accomplish it?
00:05:02 Jenny
Absolutely. I think the word is intention. That is really key. So to me, you know, legacy is something that you leave and it’s a reflection of your life.
Some may be famous and people may be famous, others may make scientific breakthroughs or have a building named after them. Legacy can be career accomplishments, financial assets and their loans, but what I want to talk about—what I like to talk about—is non-material legacies like what we just mentioned: your impact on others, positive relationships, acts of compassion and service, your kindness.
And, you know, legacy can have a lasting impact on the way that we’ll be remembered and for generations to come. And we’re all creating a legacy of some sort in the way that we lead our lives. So why not create a legacy of kindness and have the really positive ripple effect that that can have? That can go through generations.
And I believe that even a seemingly small act of kindness can unleash an energy that ripples in ways unimagined, touching countless lives and transcending generations. So, you know, think about how do you want to be remembered and also how do you want people to think of you now while you’re still living? So choosing actions and decisions through the lens of kindness and compassion can help you to create a legacy of kindness.
And Saturday I had a very recent reminder of the importance of creating a legacy of kindness. So I have a friend, David Emerald Womeldorf, who passed away unexpectedly in April. And David was the director and co-founder of the Bainbridge Learning Institute or Center. And he’s the author of The Power of TED, which is the empowerment dynamic, and Three Vital Questions.
I’ve had the opportunity and honor of attending two memorial services for David. And his important and meaningful and impactful work on the world was mentioned and remembered, but I would say even more speakers talked about his open heart, his loving heart, his love for his grandchildren, his passion for helping others, his kindness. And that’s quite a legacy.
00:07:29 Natalie
Yeah, you’re right about that. I’m sorry to hear about your friend. But you know what? They seem like they’re living on through all the acts of kindness that they put into the world.
00:07:41 Jenny
Yep, without a doubt. And I just love the way that it continues to ripple, and that’s the way that you can have an impact on future generations that you’ll never have a chance to meet, you know, whether it’s your own children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren or simply people that have been impacted by the way that you treated them and then how they went on to treat others because of that.
00:08:05 Natalie
Yeah. You mentioned in a previous conversation about The Human Kindness Book by Brad Aronson. I started reading that, and yeah, it reminded me of some of the work I see you do with Kindness from the Heart and how it is a ripple effect and it just keeps passing on and you never know how your kindness is going to impact somebody else.
And in the midst of all of this global turmoil, recognizing that kindness can also be challenging. Can you explain how we can use that kindness as a ripple effect as our superpower for changing the world?
00:08:46 Jenny
Absolutely. And I’m so delighted that you’re reading Brad’s book. He has become—yeah, he is so uplifting. He has become a good friend and collaborator with kindness initiatives. And I like to say if I’d written a book, it’s the book I would have written on kindness myself.
Yeah, you know, so it feels like we can’t turn on the news. We cannot even look at an update on our phones without seeing something negative, scary, upsetting and unsettling and divisive and really basically freaking us out about what’s taking place in our communities, in our country, around the world. And it’s really easy to get discouraged, to lose hope and to live in fear.
But, you know, that’s what gets attention, right? That kind of news. I think there’s a saying about “if it bleeds it leads.” And so there’s so much negativity that we’re being bombarded with and sure it is there, but there’s also an awful lot of really good stuff taking place around the world every day in our families, in our small communities, in our organizations, in our countries. There’s just a lot of good.
And so we need to do a better job of, first of all, being aware, looking for it. Years ago, when I was going to put in a fence or when we’re going to put in trees, it’s like all I ever saw was a particular kind of fence or a kind of tree that I was thinking about. I never saw those things before, but my awareness was such that I was looking for it. So let’s look for the good, and then let’s share it and celebrate it.
Different organizations like World Kindness Movement, Kindness Worldwide, One Kind Act Today—they all have places on their websites where you can go in and share about an act of kindness, whether it’s something that has been done on your behalf, something that you did, something that you simply witnessed. And then when people see or hear about kind acts, not only does it lift them up, but it also helps to inspire them to be more kind and do more good and be more compassionate. So, you know, that’s one way for that ripple effect to just continue on by being aware of it, sharing it, celebrating it and letting it be the news.
00:11:21 Natalie
Oh, that’s beautiful. Let the kindness be the news. Yeah. Yeah, I know there are a few news outlets that just do positive news. Like I’m forgetting the names of them—Good News Network I think is one of them. But it’s still good to hear about the good stuff going on in the world. While it is important to know everything, right? Knowing the good things is going to help you and remind you to keep good in the foresight, because the only way we’re going to change things is if we make good—if we do kind things for others, we’re going to be able to see that ripple effect and maybe we set an example for somebody else.
00:12:09 Jenny
Right. Now, let me share one more resource with you that just meant the world to me and I think it may be as well for you and some of your listeners. There was a time a few years ago when I was really feeling so discouraged and such a lack of hope and didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel with the way things were happening, particularly in our country, and a friend suggested the most beautiful TED talk.
And it’s by DeWitt Jones, who is a former National Geographic photographer.
00:12:42 Natalie
Oh my goodness, I have seen that. Yeah, it’s so good.
00:12:46 Jenny
Wonderful, isn’t it? Uplifting and helping you to look at things from a different lens? And I tell you, the best, most valuable 18 minutes I had spent in a long time and it gave me so much hope, helped to shift my perspective. And I’m so glad that you’ve enjoyed that and I’ve shared it with lots of other people and it’s just really powerful, isn’t it?
00:13:10 Natalie
Yes, it’s so powerful. Changing your perspective as a metaphor—it encapsulates everything that we feel like we want. We want to be where we want the world to go because if we’re able to open up, listen to each other, and understand each other, that we can be united in our goals. You know, maybe we have the same goals, but we’re just so passionate about doing it one way that we can’t see another option. So perhaps listening to each other can help us think and find the most efficient, creative, best way to do something we work together.
00:13:48 Jenny
Right. And looking at things through the lens of gratitude, you know, and abundance, really.
00:13:57 Natalie
Yeah, yeah. So in addition to Kindness from the Heart, you’ve worked in leadership organizations. What kind of workplace initiatives have you seen and how do they impact the organization as a whole?
00:14:11 Jenny
That’s a great question. I think that too early in my career, I started working part time as a customer service rep at a call center, customer service call center. And I remember on that first day when we were going in for our—I don’t know, month of training or whatever it was, can’t remember how long it took. But on that first day, they took the time to have some of the team leads and, you know, a handful of folks take us out to a long lunch.
And, you know, talk about—they were so welcoming and you could tell that they were really happy to have us as part of the organization and to share more about the organization. And it was just a wonderful way to kick things off.
And even though that was a lot of years ago, I remember to this day the thought, “Wow, it is so much better to start with an organization in this type of way when you’re being onboarded in this way as opposed to a farewell lunch when you are leaving.” Right. And the impact that had for us to be excited about where we were, to learn more about the organization, to feel like we were coming into it with people that we knew instead of being these total strangers. So I felt like that was really powerful and simple to do.
And another thing—I worked for a lot of years with a leadership consulting company and I was in the early, early days when we were small for a number of years and didn’t have a lot of employees. Every birthday somebody would get a birthday card, you would have a $100 bill in it and you would have a lot of personal messages from management, from fellow employees, co-workers.
And I know that we all love to see that $100 bill. But I also think that those kind words and personal messages and notes of appreciation meant a lot more than, you know, than the $100 bill did. And they certainly lasted a lot longer. And I know when you get to be a big organization that at some point in time when we grew too large, it was hard to do that, and so that went by the wayside. But how powerful that was and I still have those cards, you know, in a treasure box.
So feeling—helping your employees to feel recognized, acknowledged and appreciated is huge. The dividends really, really pay off. You know there are formal gratitude programs, whether it’s using an app or, you know, in maybe in a team meeting, calling out somebody for going above and beyond, recognition programs and awards and things like that. I think those are really helpful again to help people feel recognized and appreciated. And when you are, you want to continue on and even up your game and do the best and be your best for your company and for your customers. And so I think that that’s really important.
00:17:23 Natalie
Yeah. So it can be almost overwhelming when you think of all the options and all the things that you can do to show your employees that you care about them as people. If you had to choose one simple kindness initiative for the workplace, what would it be? What do you think would give that biggest ripple?
00:17:45 Jenny
So I’m going to qualify this as we can count it as one, but it’s a pretty reaching, overreaching umbrella. But I think it really needs to start with having the intention of creating a culture of kindness.
And, you know, it makes such a difference. So, you know, make—for top leadership, make kindness one of your core values for the organization. But then you can’t just stop there. You know, I’ve got a friend, Alan Williams in the UK, who says and I quote him often: “Values are for living, not laminating.” So don’t just declare that kindness is one of our values. But you’ve got to lead by example.
00:18:37 Natalie
- So when we’re talking about implementing it in the workplace, would—I know you said leading by example, but how do you think they could really immerse that in the culture? Do you think it’s by events or by telling people, “OK, well, if somebody needs help on something, try to help them”? Or how do you instill that kindness?
00:19:07 Jenny
Yeah. Well, again, I think it has to start at the top. You really have to—a former client used to say, “Leaders bring the weather.” And so, you know, you have to be modeling the actions that you want to see by each level of leadership on down the line and also by your teams and employees. So it’s got to start at the top with you showing an example.
And that is by getting to know your people. Know who they are personally, if you can. Share openly, have opportunities, have an open door—if you can do that open door policy, know what’s going on in their life and what’s important to them and what their challenges are. Offer help and support and then communicate clearly and transparently in how you are leading the organization and speaking to them and then encourage teamwork and relationship building.
So, you know, for employees to get to know each other as well. You know, when you have team building activities or so that you’re not just a number punching in on a time clock or something like that, but we can know what our challenges are, what our strengths are. We can build on those things. We can reach out to help each other when we can. But when your employees are treated with kindness, when they see genuine kindness modeled from leadership down the line, they’re much more likely to treat each other with kindness, and that’s going to result in working together better and more effectively and efficiently. And it’s also going to ripple out to the way that they treat your customers.
And, you know, I mentioned earlier recognize people for what they’re doing. And give opportunities for official recognition. Encourage them. You know, if you—if you see something like John Lewis is “if you see something, say something,” but also that’s for the good too. If you see somebody doing something really well, you hear them talking or working with a customer that’s upset and they bring that customer around and make them now a fan of the organization, you know, call it out, share it. You’re not taking anything away from yourself by lifting up others.
And not only encourage your employees to speak out when they, you know, for positives, but also acknowledge those who do. And that’s the way to keep continuing, you know, sharing and celebrating the good. And you celebrate it, you get more of it.
00:22:06 Natalie
Right. It reminds you that kindness is rewarded. It’s treasured in this company.
00:22:14 Jenny
Right, right, right. And it’s expected, you know. If you can also, you know, by declaring it as one of our values and also being lived by the leaders, so their employees see that. Leaders have to make difficult decisions. That’s absolutely true. But you can do it in the most kind, compassionate, informed way possible. And the ripple effect will just really, really pay off down the line.
00:22:48 Natalie
Yeah, that’s beautiful. So this is my favorite question. I like to ask people what is your favorite part of your work with Kindness from the Heart?
00:23:02 Jenny
Oh, I would say it is the opportunity to meet more kindred spirits. And I say that, you know, with the capital K-I-N-D, you know, kindred spirits.
And there are so many—I have been learning in the past number of years—what I call heart workers and light workers and people that are really passionate about making a difference in our world, in people’s lives, whether it’s in personal communities, in our politics, in the world, in organizations. There is nothing that isn’t much, much better through the lens and practice of kindness.
And so to meet people around the world, add them to my community and as an ever-growing community. So I’d love to collaborate and see how we can amplify kindness together.
00:23:58 Natalie
It’s beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing all of your wisdom around kindness and your journey on it as well. How can people find you and Kindness from the Heart?
00:24:13 Jenny
Well, first of all, it has been such a pleasure talking with you and I love speaking kindness and I love speaking with you today, Natalie. And so thank you for that. So the best place to find me is either on LinkedIn, so just Jenny Hess, or also through my website kindnessfromtheheart.com.
And I am on Instagram. I am not nearly as active as I should be and will start to be soon. But please do reach out and I love opportunities to collaborate, to share with organizations, you know, ways that we can lift each other, lift our bottom line. All kinds of things through the intention and action of compassion and awareness, which is what I call kindness.
00:25:03 Natalie
Thank you so, so much. It was so wonderful having you.
00:25:07 Jenny
Thank you so much. My pleasure.
00:25:10 Natalie
Hey, are you interested in making your workplace better, but don’t know where to start? Check out our free Kinder Workplace Journal. It offers 52 weekly thought-provoking prompts to boost self-awareness and empathy.
If you’re interested in learning about A Better Paradigm and what we do, visit us at abetterparadigm.com and follow us on social media. You can find us on Instagram at A Better Paradigm, ABP, and on LinkedIn at A Better Paradigm. Catch you next time.