By Maggie Mowery / Guest Editorial
This may be a stretch, but this month I just wanted to tie together a few points on love and kindness that have come my way recently. I’m hoping this will inspire you to think about these attributes in your own days ahead.
- I was recently working on a report for a client when the issue of kindness arose. I found myself reflecting on Sam Parker’s website, www.givemore.com, where he states that there are eight points to “loving your people”: those include being kind, being patient, being honest, encouraging people, apologizing, forgiving and thanking people. “This is the kind of love that holds us accountable,” Sam writes.
- If I ever need a boost, I’ll occasionally hold a puppy at Petland in Iowa City. Now my neighbor has adopted two little puppies: Cooper and Murphy, brother springer spaniels. It always warms my heart to see what joy is in the soul of a little dog. They simply want to love everyone they meet!
- My uncle, Tom Copenhaver, passed away last week and I posted a tribute to him on Facebook. So many people reached out to me with the most kind and gracious comments. It warmed my heart and soothed my soul to know that others care enough to say those things on a public forum.
- Although the IRS is not an organization you usually associate with warmth and kindness, the other day I had a pleasant discussion with an IRS agent. She was warm, she was empathetic, she was knowledgeable, and I actually felt pretty good after I hung up – which is amazing if you are talking about taxes.
- I recently started a training program on “appreciative inquiry,” which is the idea is that organizations can be thought of as living beings made up of the individuals working within it. Appreciative inquiry has the ability to improve the whole organization by focusing on strengths and successes, instead of looking at problems and deficiencies. How can your organization change its perspective to celebrate love and kindness?
- Can you love all the people in your business? There is always someone at work who is difficult to love, but perhaps if we spent some time with that person, it would become clear that they need and deserve love, understanding and maybe a little forgiveness for whatever annoyances they may have caused us. In “Creating We,” author Judith Glaser writes that one characteristic that is found in healthy company cultures is that “colleagues have incredible sensitivity toward one another – and therefore work side by side to mutually support one another’s growth.” That’s definitely an example of loving your people.
Like the song says, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” I believe that all of us who listen to or read the news could agree that the world could use a little more love and kindness. Try to keep in mind that every organization is made up of people, and that all people deserve a little empathy – and then see what you can do to spread some warmth and love. It just might be habit-forming!
Maggie Mowery is with Maggie Mowery Consulting, www.maggiemowery.com.
