Next week, my first book, Genuine Kindness: Achieving Results through Trust and Understanding, will be released. This guide for the modern business leader explores how we can achieve positive results in the workplace through self-awareness, responsiveness, authenticity, and accountability. In support of the February 23 release, I am previewing the four conditions of genuine kindness. When combined and enacted, these tenets will advance the bottom line and increase compassion and morale throughout any organization.

In my last post, I discussed the importance of self-awareness and willingness to modify our behavior. Today, I examine the difference between reactivity and responsiveness. This is an essential distinction between an ineffective leader and one who models receptivity through listening and consideration.

This second condition of genuine kindness requires leaders to pause when faced with unpleasant interactions or unexpected changes, rather than succumbing to highly charged emotions. Resisting the urge to give a knee-jerk reaction to high-pressure situations and challenging input is not always easy. However, the positive impact of seeking information, listening attentively, reflecting, and then responding is a worthwhile reward.

Patience, understanding, and thoughtfulness defuse potentially toxic conversations. They also set the stage for truly powerful solutions that transform a limiting problem into an opportunity for growth.

Effective leaders know that workers throughout an organization have insights that can prove beneficial. The best leaders go out of their way to demonstrate receptivity to these insights; they never wait for problems before they solicit input and fully listen.

London-based consultancy, Sideways 6, developed a list that celebrates the “Top 50 Listening Leaders” they observed in various industries. Some CEOs, like Jens Hofma of Pizza Hut UK, reportedly spent time working entry-level positions on the front line to better understand the experience of those employees who are the face of the business for customers. Others, like Kevin Johnson at Microsoft (before becoming CEO at Starbucks), set up internal programs offering financial support to employees who wanted to develop their own projects. Finally, there are the leaders who simply spend most of their time at meetings listening and processing. As Sunder Pichai of Google says: “If you are in a meeting, the higher up you are, it is tough to understand what’s going on, so speaking less … and listening more to what is around you is important.”

In each case, these leaders seek to increase engagement and find solutions, while promoting civility through thoughtful responses rather than explosive or short-sighted reactions. When employees are heard, they feel valued. When their thoughts are taken seriously rather than paid mere lip service, they feel more motivated to contribute and to speak up with essential feedback when challenges arise.

Genuinely kind and effective leaders respond rather than react; they open themselves rather than shut down. As a result, they create a positive, productive, and collaborative work culture where people aren’t afraid to communicate directly. In my upcoming book, I devote a chapter to discussing how leaders can embrace this condition and augment the success and well-being of their organization.

As I count down to February 23, continue to check this blog for more previews of the four conditions of genuine kindness!