Please Note: This is a summary of an article originally posted on Entrepreneur on September 22, 2026. Click here for the original article and links. The Australian L&D Network has no affiliation with Entrepreneur.
Cherian argues that kindness builds the trust teams need to speak up, solve problems early and perform under pressure, and that the strongest leaders pair empathy with accountability, creating a culture where people feel supported while still owning results.
He illustrates this with a project manager who felt safe enough to escalate a risk early, preventing a crisis — and how publicly recognizing that act later sparked a peer recognition program. He pushes back on the idea that kindness softens standards: instead, it’s what makes people willing to share ideas, challenge assumptions and raise concerns when something feels wrong. He also shares a cautionary case where relentless “explain the shortfall” reporting eroded trust, even though the intent was accountability — a reminder that good intentions can still backfire.
His three practical, low-cost habits for building trust: active listening, regularly recognizing contributions (not just at annual reviews), and being visibly present with teams.
Be honest: Cherian says kindness and accountability aren’t opposites — but where have you seen ‘kindness’ actually used as an excuse to avoid a hard conversation? How do you tell the difference?
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