Recently my 8-year-old daughter was the recipient of a random act of kindness that warmed my heart. The entire EG team signed a card to celebrate her dance achievements over the year, and presented her with tickets to go and see a play.
As parents it is a given that we celebrate our children’s successes with them. But it is something truly special for our kids when they are recognised by someone else. It seems to have much more meaning. As a proud mum or dad it is almost expected we praise them, but when the world acknowledges it – it feels more real!
That’s because such kindness or recognition from a stranger is rare. Dare I say, a little too rare, especially in the corporate world. Even more so in the property and investment corner of that world. In today’s zero-sum-game mentality, where every win comes at the cost of someone else’s loss, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of viewing kindness as a cost and not a win.
But at EG, we believe that it’s not a question of one or the other, but one and the other. We find a better path to better returns and make a meaningful difference at the same time. We’ve found that often, what’s best for one of our communities or investors, doesn’t come at the cost of the other. What’s best for both can be the same thing.
Kindness is a business strategy and one that has the potential to completely disrupt the industry if people are brave enough to use it. It always starts with the people though. Kindness shines in our culture through initiatives such as Random Acts of Kindness, the hobby program and generous annual leave. When we see the benefits of these in action, we can leverage our success to help others achieve too.
Kindness is not a weakness. It doesn’t have to be expensive or cost you your competitive edge. EG’s staff culture and EG Grow initiatives have shown me that kindness requires a strength, integrity and courage across both your personal and professional worlds. That is never more apparent than when I saw my daughter smile at the handwritten card from my team-mates.