Leaders need a wide range of qualities to ensure their teams thrive—integrity, honesty, empathy, and adaptability, to name a few. Kindness is another attribute of a good leader. But kindness is not the same as niceness—a nuance often misunderstood.
If a manager does not counsel or provide constructive feedback on an employee’s subpar performance, it prevents the employee’s – and the team’s – potential for success, improvement, and innovation.
3 Differences Between Kindness and Niceness
It’s not always an easy or comfortable situation, but when corrections and actionable feedback are provided in a polite and respectful manner, they support growth and professional development. It is an investment you are making in someone by giving them the feedback needed for them to grow.
Another example of being nice versus kind could be taking on more work than a person can do or lying to preserve another’s feelings. Kindness requires managers to confront the truth with care and thoughtfulness, but the change must be deliberate.
That's when both parties do their biggest amount of growing and learning. If you're a leader and must have a tough conversation, you're exercising a muscle and growing as a manager. When you’ve built a good relationship with that employee, and they understand that the correction comes from your desire to invest in their professional development. Niceness is passive; you’re passively pleasant but not investing in your team.
Fast Company’s Humankindnex study explores how employees perceive two key elements in the workplace: kindness and innovation:
The study found a direct link between a company’s kindness and innovation quotients. Organizations with high kindness quotients are five times more likely to be considered innovative.
Kindness—unlike niceness—is about taking meaningful action: offering honest feedback, supporting growth, and creating a culture where both wins and mistakes become opportunities to learn. Embracing kindness in leadership is not just a moral imperative but a strategic advantage that can drive lasting success and innovation for the individual and the company.
Michelle Link is responsible for leading the global Human Resources organization – including Talent Acquisition, Workforce Solutions, Organizational Development, HR Information Systems, Total Rewards, and Change Management. Michelle is an accomplished human resources executive with over 25 years of experience in national and international organizations across healthcare, call center, and government contracts.