From the Desk of Chief Ogden | Seeds of Leadership | By Chief David A. Ogden
Leadership’s Toughest Job: Balancing Fairness, and Relationships
Not everyone you fight is your enemy, and not everyone who helps you is your friend.
Restoring relationships is one of the hardest and most important jobs of a leader. Relationships are complicated, and as a leader, you’ll face situations where people feel things aren’t fair. Maybe someone didn’t get the promotion, the big project, or the new equipment. Fairness is hard to measure because it’s different for everyone. While it’s impossible to please everyone, being consistent is the best way to be fair. Even then, not everyone will agree with your decisions, and leaders must figure out how to handle those challenges.
Good leaders know how to balance justice and mercy. This balance helps set the tone for promotions, transfers, assignments, discipline, and hiring or firing. These decisions can be stressful and carry a lot of risks if the leader doesn’t keep their own life in balance. A leader must weigh the impact of their decisions, how much they might hurt someone, and how people will handle it. A great leader also considers the overall mood and mental health of their team, including those who didn’t get what they wanted. And remember, every decision you make will be judged by others—many of whom wouldn’t want the responsibility of making the decision themselves.
Finally, leaders must also think about what’s best for the organization and the people involved. One of the toughest tasks is dealing with toxic employees. A team might manage to adapt to one difficult person, but two toxic employees will likely team up and create a negative culture. If the problem isn’t fixed, it can hurt the entire organization.
