🥰 Kindness is Contagious, Pass it Around!

Please share a story about an act of kindness you witnessed or experienced. Tell me about it, and I’ll share it here. The intention is to raise our collective awareness of the kindness all around us–the types of little acts that don’t make it into our news feeds but fill our hearts when we learn about them. And if you want to share confidentially, I’ll share the story but not your identity. 🤫

In the meantime, here’s a group working to make kindness “the Norm.” Please share with anyone you think would appreciate the message.

🦋 Curated Shares to Inspire “Better”

• I saw a wonderful reframing story this week that can be applied to many situations in life. There are two important reminders here: to look at challenges as opportunities and to accept people for who they are.

• Working after 8:00 p.m. is up 16% over last year as workloads increase and relief is non-existent. Thirty-two percent of workers mention burnout in a report by Glassdoor. Working late is “…nothing new in modern American work culture, but many workers say the intensity is rising as companies slow hiring, trim costs and add more tasks to roles. Adoption of artificial-intelligence tools at work isn’t far enough along to lighten the load for most. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers said they don’t use AI much or at all on the job in a Pew Research Center survey this year.” Here’s more via this gift link from The Wall Street Journal.

• How do you know if you’re over-accommodating instead of leading effectively? Roxanne Calder, writing for Fast Company, identifies 5 behaviors to avoid in the full article. Here are the highlights:
  • Rescuing instead of supporting

• • Not setting consistent standards

• Giving rewards without anchors, “… recognitions handed out without anchors cause confusion, both for those rewarded and those observing. When rewards feel arbitrary, morale doesn’t rise, it fractures.”

• Over-accommodating poor performance, excusing it instead of dealing with it directly

• Taking psychological safety too far. “Reset expectations that having difficult conversations are a part of the job, then model a healthy way to have them.”

• 🌟Do Good Spotlight: Heart to Heart International 💕Improved access to health for those in underprivileged areas and/or disaster situations…. That’s the mission of Heart to Heart International. Through hygiene kits, disaster response, medical care, supplies, medications, and more, this charity works to improve healthcare access in the U.S. and abroad. Learn more: Heart to Heart International.

• Would you be surprised to learn that 25% of the time, “help” is not that helpful? Researchers at a major consultancy were curious and shared their findings as well as tips for helping better in this (gifted link) article from the Harvard Business Review.

• Being wicked smart isn’t always beneficial. Learn the challenges faced by the truly gifted, and see if it brings insights you can apply to those around you.

⏳Until Next Time…

Wishing you the time you need to recharge your awesomeness. ☮️

Niki