The Business Case for Kindness

Melinda Hsu has spent her career navigating some of Hollywood’s most demanding creative environments. A veteran television writer, producer, and showrunner, she has worked on acclaimed series including Lost, The Vampire Diaries, The Gifted, Nancy Drew, and Tom Swift. In her new book, Lead with Kindness: How to Change the Culture of the Workplace and the World (Post Hill Press, June 2026), Hsu argues that kindness is not a soft skill or a sign of weakness—it is a powerful leadership tool that drives accountability, trust, performance, and resilience. In this edition of Author Talks, Hsu chats with McKinsey Global Publishing’s Roberta Fusaro and discusses why toxic workplace cultures persist, how leaders can build trust in times of uncertainty, and the measurable business benefits of leading with kindness. *Chapters:* 00:00 – Intro 00:12 – Inside the Writer’s Guild strike 02:09 – Kindness with a backbone 03:38 – Can kindness be viewed as weakness in women? 04:35 – The top 3 benefits of leading with kindness 06:48 – Measuring investment in kindness 09:12 – Building trust in chaotic environments 11:18 – Kindness and accountability in practice 13:16 – Building the writers’ room with kindness 15:25 – Giving feedback with kindness 12:35 – The key takeaway Read the interview: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-in-hollywood-and-in-business-its-cool-to-be-kind Watch more author talks: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhvMIsPbo0GAG-8cHzQSKJkO0hBJyWQe3 Subscribe to our channel: http://mck.co/YouTube Subscribe to our newsletters: http://mck.co/Subscribe *Find us on:* Facebook: http://mck.co/Facebook Twitter: http://mck.co/Twitter LinkedIn: http://mck.co/LinkedIn Instagram: http://mck.co/Instagram Comments and opinions expressed by interviewees are their own and do not represent or reflect the opinions, policies, or positions of McKinsey & Company or have its endorsement.