The traditional business leader is smart, determined, and ruthless. However, the modern world demands a leader that is a little bit different, presenting kindness, patience, and good will to others. If you want to sweep some of the coldness away and learn how to be the philanthropic business leader that you have always dreamed of being, read on for some top tips you can follow throughout 2025.
1. Listen to Your Employees
Your employees are the heart and soul of your business. They are what makes it tick and what keeps it running when you are looking the other way. You might pay them to turn up for work each day, but this does not mean that you should treat them as mindless servants, without an individual life of their own. Instead, it is vital that you listen to and truly hear your employees.
Both when they come to you with problems and when they strike up a conversation with you. Getting to know your team members will help them feel valued and establish a good relationship with them. It will also show that you are a proactive leader who is always looking out for them and on their side. After a while, you might find that they are more open with you and more willing to tell you when there is an issue at work and in their personal lives.
2. Give Leeway
You might hold everyone around you- colleagues, clients, and suppliers- to high standards, and so you should. However, there are times when giving leeway is the right decision. Giving a certain amount of leeway while maintaining a boundary will never show you in a bad light, and you might even find that people want to help you and see you positively by doing so. For instance, a supplier might slip up and fail to send your order out on time; if this is a one-off, you should contact them calmly and politely and discuss with them what an appropriate solution would be.
This might provide you with a better outcome and ensure that you can maintain this working relationship for the future. Although you should not allow people to walk all over you, if your team member is distracted and is working at a lower standard than usual, instead of telling them off, you might find a quiet moment to ask what is wrong and offer any help that you can, such as extra training.
You might also try to believe any excuses your customers and clients give when it comes to issues such as broken products and try to rectify the issue. By putting them first rather than getting aggressive or defensive, you will be able to improve the reputation of your already glowing business.
3. Care About Everyone
Genuine care is important, and people will notice if you are only putting it on. Caring for your employees will make them want to work for you and do their best for you, and caring about your clients’ experience will ensure that they have the best time with your company. You can show you care by offering praise, checking in with your employees and helping them to work toward your goals, following up with your customers, and going above and beyond to give them the very best. You might also personalize their experience with them. If you are struggling to find this empathy yourself, you should try to see your employees and clients as individuals rather than just as cogs in your machine.
4. Look Into Compassionate Leave
Your employees’ lives do not revolve around their work, however much you might like it to. Each of your team members will have other life events going on, and some of these might be more difficult to deal with than others. Grief and loss are inevitable, and you, as an employer, must be prepared for them. For instance, you should know the legislation and guidelines when it comes to compassionate leave in the workplace.
If you struggle to connect with those who have lost someone or deal with it correctly in the office or factory, you might consider looking around for an HR firm that can give you advice on managing bereavement in the workplace. This will allow you to take the right steps to support your employee and ensure that they can return to work carefully and sensitively.
5. Make Kind Decisions
You also need to make kinder decisions in the wider world. For instance, you should try to make eco-friendly decisions and only buy from suppliers that pay their employees a fair wage and give them excellent working conditions. You might also choose to donate a proportion of your earnings to a charity of your choice or donate a certain percentage of a charity product. The charity you settle on should always be researched beforehand, though, or else you might find yourself amid a PR faux-pax.
