Based on our research and direct experience, there are four main steps to quantify kindness and its impact on business:Ā
Measure leaders’ kindness
In our previous article on building organizational trust, we introduced the Trust Behavioral Index which summarizes, for each manager, their individual score on different components such as credibility, vulnerability, and selflessness. This is created through a set of underlying questions that are scored anonymously by peers and direct reports. For example, at SAP, managers have a Net Promoter Score on leadership trust ā a core index of how they are viewed by direct reports. Leaders who are kind are seen as more trustworthy by their employees, which has a positive impact on motivation, well-being, and engagement.Ā
Compare leadersā kindness with their employees’ motivation
Employees are surveyed on their motivation with questions around purpose, autonomy, and relationship. Results by unit (or sub-unit) are compared with the unit leaderās individual score on the Trust Behavioral Index. In the companies and units where we ran the correlation, we found consistent links between kind leaders and motivated employees. Ā
Link employee motivation and business performance
To convincingly show the link between kindness, motivation and business results, anecdotal evidence is not enough. Each unit should analyze the link between higher motivation indexes and measurable business metrics (like sales or operations efficiency). Granularity of analysis is important to avoid dilution. We encourage companies to conduct this analysis across all divisions (horizontal granularity) and within one division to cascade into sub-units and teams (vertical granularity). For example, Googleās well-known Project Aristotle analyzed 180 teams to investigate what drives team performance, finding correlation with multiple motivational patterns. Ā
Track progress balancing ālagā and āleadā indicators
When correlating the link between leadership behaviors, employee motivation/wellbeing, and business performance, itās important to consider the delay between one action and the impact on the following layer. For example, lag indicators measure the current motivation and wellbeing (e.g., absenteeism, turnover), while lead indicators measure concrete actions taken by leaders to drive the future motivation state of their employees (e.g., team retrospectives, purpose sessions, the removal of the needs for authorization).Ā