June 2026 | Lead with Kindness: The Four L’s of True Leadership
- Mister Mike
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
June 2026
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Sir Isaac Newton 1643-1727
I had a conversation with a friend of mine a short time ago, and he asked me what I thought was the key skill of leadership. I thought about it for a moment. There are so many “Rules of Leadership” and any number of books based on leadership skills. My thoughts brought me to a different answer, or a different question. Rather than what the skills of a leader are, I would suggest that we look at the type of human being we might define as a leader.
1. Listener: When talking to people, really listen to what they are saying instead of forming in your mind how you are going to respond to them. You need to be intentional to hear what they are saying. We’re all guilty of this. We want to respond the right way, but it won’t happen if we haven’t really heard them.
2. Learned: Some level of intelligence is needed. One does not have to be a genius to be a leader, but some level of emotional intelligence is required to deal with the many different personality types under your leadership. They come from all walks of life with all kinds of needs.
3. Level-headed: The ability to make decisions and adapt to change should your decisions prove to be less than correct is crucial. Don’t stay on the same path if the path can be made better, or your defined course just because you made the decision. When a better path is found, make the changes now! Be prepared for change and flexibility.
4. Likeable: (I’m not talking about trying to be everyone’s friend here.) My favorite, and perhaps the foundation of all leadership, is kindness. Just be sincerely kind to people, those you like and those you might like less. Everyone has potential to contribute. Be kind to all. This may in fact be the number one leadership skill in today’s world, which seems to be in so much need of people who are kind.
In making decisions, being a good LISTENER, reasonably LEARNED, LEVEL-HEADED, and LIKEABLE will serve you well in a leadership role.
It should be obvious to us all that in today’s high stress and rapidly changing world, it is important for us to learn new things and not to keep doing things the way we have “always done them.” They may have worked well in the past but now may need some tweaking. It doesn’t mean there are not some elements of the old ways that can’t be kept but probably change is needed. You may need to stay the course, alter it a bit, or change it completely. Most importantly, be the kind of person who truly likes people, who can see through the stress they are dealing with in order to get the work done and maybe help them in the process.
Now stop right here, right where you are! What one thing can you do today to improve in one of these areas. Right now, put your lifetime of knowledge and wisdom to work for you, by communicating your decisions based on your experience. Put listening, learning, level-headedness, and likeability to work for you. Do it all with kindness, at least more kindness than you would have shown before you read this short article.
Be happy, have a great summer, and be kind! You can do this…..(smile)
Today’s Quote
"A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees."
Amelia Earhart
Michael M. Carney mr.mikecarney@gmail.com
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