I recently had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Shola Richards, a dynamic keynote speaker and fellow Gotham Artists family member, and our conversation was nothing short of magical! As the CEO and founder of Go Together Global® and author of Making Work Work and Go Together, Shola is on a mission to transform how we treat one another in every space we occupy.
During our chat, I posed a question that resonates deeply with many of us: “What is one thing that leaders can do today to create a kind and civil workplace?”
His answer was powerful and unexpected: “Hold people accountable for behaviors that are harming the team…That creates trust.”
It’s a straightforward yet profound reminder that true compassion isn’t about avoiding difficult conversations—it’s about having them with heart.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE ⬇️
This leads me to a question for you: When you witness unkind behavior in your workplace, do you address it? Or do you hope it will resolve itself?
Shola challenged me with this very reality. So often, we think we’re being “nice” by staying silent, but we’re actually enabling harm to continue. Real kindness requires the courage to speak up when someone’s behavior is hurting others.
But here’s the key: You can’t address what you don’t notice. In our distracted, always-on world, we often lose touch with our own emotional state—and miss the signals that something isn’t right with our colleagues.
To foster truly kind workplaces, we need two things:
- Presence – Tuning into ourselves and others
- Courage – Speaking up when behavior doesn’t align with our values
Kindness without boundaries isn’t actually kind at all. It’s how toxic behavior spreads and good people burn out.
What would change in your workplace if leaders consistently held people accountable for unkind behavior while supporting everyone’s growth?
