Kindness is need of the hour

Our teams are going through a lot. People are either impacted themselves or have their immediate friends and family reeling under the effects of COVID. Needless to mention the panic like situation and fear that's all around.

We need to be sensitive to our colleagues. Everyone is emotionally charged and going through difficult times. It is important to be doubly careful in what we say to our teams and how we say it.

This of course doesn't mean we don't share feedback or opportunities to improve. All it means is 3 things

1. We do so empathetically, and where possible have a higher threshold of patience. Share feedback on the event & not on the person - and do so kindly.

2. Avoid perspective bias i.e. don't expect from your teams what you think you may have done if you were in their shoes. Each of us is different - for someone pressure of the current situation may mean working doubly hard, while someone else may freeze up and not be able to work. Please allow for these differences, and support/ guide them based on their individual situations (& not as per your default option).

3. When asking someone else for work, please do see what else you can do to help them. Simple things can either break the camel's back or build great camaraderie.