Nearly two years ago, Carnegie UK first convened a Kindness Leadership Network (KiLN), made up of members from different sectors spread across England, Scotland and Wales, with the stated aim of supporting and challenging organisations to move kindness ‘off the page’ and into practice.
As with many things, COVID-19 changed the nature and timetable of this programme of work, but it also presented opportunities for embedding kindness in organisational responses to the pandemic.
Today, we are delighted to launch a set of materials that tells the story of KiLN which we hope will inspire and support other organisations to join this growing movement in seeking to put kindness at the heart of their practice.
1. Our main report, Leading with kindness, narrates the journey we’ve been on since 2019: how KiLN members adapted to COVID-19, and what we learnt about what is possible when kindness becomes an operating principle.
2. The report culminates with a Commitment to Kindness, which distils the collective experience of KiLN members into six goals designed to enable organisations of all kinds and in all places to sustain and deepen their focus on kindness.
3. Alongside this, we worked with Simon Anderson and Julie Brownlie to produce Getting the measure of kindness – a guide that aims to support organisations to develop their approach to the persistent challenge of measurement.
4. Finally, over the next week we’ll be releasing a number of digital stories that aim to communicate the value and importance of kindness in a new way for people within organisations, and people interacting with organisations (look out for these on social media).
However, we don’t just want to share this learning; we want it to lead to action that improves wellbeing.
Therefore, if these reports resonate with the journey that you and your organisation are on, we invite you to endorse the Commitment to Kindness, to use it as a framework to enhance your organisation’s approach to implementing kindness, and to join a growing movement of ‘kind organisations’.
Finally, we would love to hear your thoughts and reactions, which you can share with the team via ben.thurman@carnegieuk.org and with others at @CarnegieUKTrust
#CommitmentToKindness.
With best wishes
SARAH DAVIDSON
Chief Executive, Carnegie UK
Twitter: @CarnegieUKTrust