Kindness and leadership aren't often synonymous. Ask someone to describe "good leadership" to you and you will hear many adjectives used: authentic, bold, challenging, charismatic, decisive, empowering, fearless, goal-oriented, humble, inspiring, original, passionate, role-model, strategic and transparent, to name of a few. And though there are many more that come to mind, kindness isn't one of them. And here's the problem with that. Leaders lead. And the way a leader leads - how they do what they do - influences those they lead. From the president of the country, to the president of a company, from middle managers, right down to front-line supervisors, what a leader models - how they think, speak and act - influences the people they lead. Leaders who think, speak and act unkindly give legitimacy and permission to those they lead to think, speak, and act in exactly the same unkind ways. Today, in a world where a leaders' words and actions travel quickly through social media channels such as Twitter, their influence - unkind or kind - is amplified through repeated views and sharing. In an increasingly fragmented, polarized and divided world, we need leaders who will bring people together not divide them. Leaders who value and model cooperation and collaboration over competition. And who model ways to think kindly, speak kindly and act kindly. We need kindness to become synonymous with good leadership. So that when someone is asked to describe the traits of a good leader, kindness will be the first word that comes to mind. Essentially, the purpose of this book is to teach leaders how to lead with kindness so they can influence the people they lead to create kinder workplaces, organizations and the world. Each chapter contains a mixture of theory, case studies and reflections from leaders and the people they influence. As well, the book follows the fictional stories of Kay'La Janson and Kevin Landrell, as they become leaders in a failing organization that is ultimately turned around through kind leadership. Between chapters there are a series of practical exercises based on concepts presented in the previous chapter with space to record outcomes and reflections on the practice process. This book gives you a deep theoretical understanding of the importance of leading with kindness and also provides practical exercises for you to use to turn theory into practice. Because "change means doing things differently," and because we only really "learn by doing" to create kinder organizations, kinder communities and a kinder world, leaders must be able to begin practicing kindness right away. By the time you finish the book, you will feel confident in your ability to lead with kindness and also to address organizational problems at work, at home and in the community, with kindness.

Kindness and leadership aren't often synonymous. Ask someone to describe "good leadership" to you and you will hear many adjectives used: authentic, bold, challenging, charismatic, decisive, empowering, fearless, goal-oriented, humble, inspiring, original, passionate, role-model, strategic and transparent, to name of a few. And though there are many more that come to mind, kindness isn't one of them. And here's the problem with that. Leaders lead. And the way a leader leads - how they do what they do - influences those they lead. From the president of the country, to the president of a company, from middle managers, right down to front-line supervisors, what a leader models - how they think, speak and act - influences the people they lead. Leaders who think, speak and act unkindly give legitimacy and permission to those they lead to think, speak, and act in exactly the same unkind ways. Today, in a world where a leaders' words and actions travel quickly through social media channels such as Twitter, their influence - unkind or kind - is amplified through repeated views and sharing. In an increasingly fragmented, polarized and divided world, we need leaders who will bring people together not divide them. Leaders who value and model cooperation and collaboration over competition. And who model ways to think kindly, speak kindly and act kindly. We need kindness to become synonymous with good leadership. So that when someone is asked to describe the traits of a good leader, kindness will be the first word that comes to mind. Essentially, the purpose of this book is to teach leaders how to lead with kindness so they can influence the people they lead to create kinder workplaces, organizations and the world. Each chapter contains a mixture of theory, case studies and reflections from leaders and the people they influence. As well, the book follows the fictional stories of Kay'La Janson and Kevin Landrell, as they become leaders in a failing organization that is ultimately turned around through kind leadership. Between chapters there are a series of practical exercises based on concepts presented in the previous chapter with space to record outcomes and reflections on the practice process. This book gives you a deep theoretical understanding of the importance of leading with kindness and also provides practical exercises for you to use to turn theory into practice. Because "change means doing things differently," and because we only really "learn by doing" to create kinder organizations, kinder communities and a kinder world, leaders must be able to begin practicing kindness right away. By the time you finish the book, you will feel confident in your ability to lead with kindness and also to address organizational problems at work, at home and in the community, with kindness.

How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence: A Lean Coaching Workbook is a self-contained workbook, in which the reader completes twenty-one days of practical exercises and activities focused on creativity, lean and coaching (one set per day). This will enable the reader to develop their capability and confidence to be creative, adapt lean principles, practices and tools to their unique service organization and coach others to do the same. The workbook guides the reader through a structured, systematic, easy-to-understand, habit-building approach, and function as the reader's 'coach'. As the reader 'works' their way through the book, they will reclaim their creativity, learn Karyn's tried-and-true 15-minute a day coaching approach and adapt lean principles, practices and tools to their particular service organization. As an internationally acclaimed lean consultant, highly experienced coach and coauthor of The Toyota Way to Service Excellence, Karyn Ross is often asked to help service organizations that are struggling to translate lean principles into the sustainable practices that will meet their - and their customers' - unique needs, now and for the long-term. Over the years, Karyn has found that the best way for organizations to overcome this struggle is to develop a network of coaches who can help people at all levels: * Learn by 'doing'. Changing what we do - and seeing the different result - changes how we think, not the opposite! * Adapt lean in a way that makes sense for their service organization. Lean practitioners working in service organizations may have difficulty adapting lean manufacturing practices to meet the special 'people' considerations found in services. * Practice continuously to make a habit. Coaching helps people develop the discipline and stamina needed to turn new behaviors into habits. That's the beauty of this book! It functions as the reader's personal 'coach', guiding them through the daily practice required to make new behaviors (and the resulting new thinking) a habit, so that they can coach their organization to success!

How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence: A Lean Coaching Workbook is a self-contained workbook, in which the reader completes twenty-one days of practical exercises and activities focused on creativity, lean and coaching (one set per day). This will enable the reader to develop their capability and confidence to be creative, adapt lean principles, practices and tools to their unique service organization and coach others to do the same. The workbook guides the reader through a structured, systematic, easy-to-understand, habit-building approach, and function as the reader's 'coach'. As the reader 'works' their way through the book, they will reclaim their creativity, learn Karyn's tried-and-true 15-minute a day coaching approach and adapt lean principles, practices and tools to their particular service organization. As an internationally acclaimed lean consultant, highly experienced coach and coauthor of The Toyota Way to Service Excellence, Karyn Ross is often asked to help service organizations that are struggling to translate lean principles into the sustainable practices that will meet their - and their customers' - unique needs, now and for the long-term. Over the years, Karyn has found that the best way for organizations to overcome this struggle is to develop a network of coaches who can help people at all levels: * Learn by 'doing'. Changing what we do - and seeing the different result - changes how we think, not the opposite! * Adapt lean in a way that makes sense for their service organization. Lean practitioners working in service organizations may have difficulty adapting lean manufacturing practices to meet the special 'people' considerations found in services. * Practice continuously to make a habit. Coaching helps people develop the discipline and stamina needed to turn new behaviors into habits. That's the beauty of this book! It functions as the reader's personal 'coach', guiding them through the daily practice required to make new behaviors (and the resulting new thinking) a habit, so that they can coach their organization to success!