Random Acts of Kindness: What if this happened in your workplace?

If you are on Facebook, you have likely seen this viral post appear from one of your friends in the last few weeks: The first 5 people to comment on this post will receive, within this calendar year, a gift from me – something like a book, baked goods, something handmade etc. It can happen at any time during this year..so a surprise! Who doesn’t love a surprise! The only catch is, you in turn must pay-it-forward and do the same for the first five comments you receive on your post. What a great way to do something fun for our friends and family. Happy New Year!

To be honest, I haven’t acted upon any of these posts online, but the idea spurred some pondering as I think about the workplaces in which we “live” each day.

What if…as leaders we encouraged each employee to live out this mantra in 2013? What impact could those actions have on our customers, co-workers, volunteers, patients, congregation, etc? And the list goes on and on.

It’s the power of the ripple effect – a gradually spreading effect or influence. In our world as leaders, the impact begins with one person. A change in my thinking impacts my behavior. My behavior creates influence and inspiration to others to in turn, change their behavior. And as group thinking and behavior change, the organization changes, improves and grows.

So what could Random Acts of Kindness look like in your world? The list is numerous but here are few to get your creative juices flowing:
• Speak first and last to everyone you come in contact with
• Hold the door for someone else entering and exiting your workplace
• Pay for the person behind you in line at Starbucks
• Surprise a customer with a token of gratitude because it’s “Tuesday”
• Call a special person in your life and tell them what they mean to you
• Write a personal thank you note
• Compliment a co-worker on something he/she does well

And while January is slipping away, it’s not too late to start a resolution/revolution that could impact your organization in ways that are potentially too numerous to count.

What could this look like in your world? Post a comment so others can be benefit from your idea. Perhaps that’s your first random act of kindness…