The Science is Undeniable: Kind Leaders DO Win!

By Laurel Donnellan (originally published at Forbes.com)

In the social sciences, researchers often use the umbrella term prosocial leadership behaviors to refer to a leader’s intentional actions that promote well-being and growth.  Here are the three Core Elements of Prosocial Behavior:

1. Voluntary
    The person chooses to engage in the behavior; it’s not forced.
2. Intended to help
    The goal (or at least part of the goal) is to benefit someone else—not oneself.
3. Positive social impact
    The behavior increases social harmony, support, or well-being.

These behaviors are expressed through empathy, compassion, fairness, inclusiveness, creating psychological safety, and supporting employee development and growth. 

Over the last two decades, a multitude of scientific studies by leading researchers have empirically demonstrated what we intuitively knew to be true: The benefits of prosocial behaviors and motivations in the workplace are vast and undeniable, including significant improvements in employee well-being, innovation capability, employee retention, and overall business performance. I had the great honor of interviewing one of these researchers and her colleague last week. 

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D, is the science director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, where she leads major research initiatives and co-teaches the “Science of Happiness” course, which is the world’s largest course of its kind. A UC Berkeley–trained neuroscientist, she studies how prosocial states such as compassion, gratitude, and awe support health and well-being in life and at work.

Her colleague, Kia Afcari, is the Director of Greater Good Workplaces at GGSC with over 20 years of experience helping leaders, teams, and organizations create collaborative, prosocial change across sectors. His innovative methods, coaching and facilitation credentials, TEDx talk, and award-winning culture-change work reflect his commitment to translating the science of prosociality into lasting organizational impact.

Afcari and the team at the Greater Good Science Center are on a mission to help more leaders understand and embrace compassionate leadership through an inaugural live event, Why Kind Leaders Win, scheduled on December 1, 2025, in Berkeley, CA. The event will feature both compassionate leaders and researchers, including UC Berkeley’s Chancellor Rich Lyons, Yamini Rangan, the CEO of HubSpot; Denis Ring, the CEO of Ocho Chocolates/Whole Foods 365; KeyAnna Schmiedl, Chief Human Experience Officer, Workhuman; Emiliana Simon-Thomas; and Weili Ge, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Washington, Foster School of Business. 

Ge is an a award-winning accounting teacher who co-authored a study with other researchers, including Mei Feng and Wei Ting Loh, that found "prosocial" or kind leaders are more likely to increase company value and stakeholder satisfaction. This research indicates that CEOs who engage in activities primarily focused on helping others make decisions that benefit people, reduce executive-subordinate turnover, increase customer satisfaction, and promote socially responsible activities. 

Afcari and Simon-Thomas hope that this event starts a movement. In our conversation, we discussed how this approach can benefit leaders at all levels, whether or not you are part of a kind culture. For example, if you know that kind leadership works and you are working for an unkind leader, this event and research may give you the courage to seek out another company to work for. They believe that kindness should be at the center of a company’s culture, not a special program.