Justice

I consider myself extremely fortunate that I grew up in a country whose people have a strong sense of justice. There exists in our government, in our schools, in our professional sports, and in most workplaces, a system by which people are treated more or less consistently. This is not an absolute, of course, and there will be people in your life who will be subjective or display favoritism to the detriment of their team. This value is strong enough in our society, however, that many of us grow up not only expecting to benefit from just treatment but also, when in a position of authority, to be just in our treatment of others.

A sense of justice is one of the more subtle leadership traits that the Marine Corps taught me. When I think of great leaders in history or even simply great bosses I’ve had, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind if I were to describe those individuals. And yet, it’s one of the traits that those being led may appreciate and respect most when all is said and done. In particular, when times are tough and no one is really feeling great about the mission in front of them, it’s crucial to assign work or administer discipline or rewards in the most fair manner possible. This applies in the military and in civilian workplaces.

Sometimes things are just going to suck and no one particular decision is going to seem fair. In situations I’ve encountered like this in the past, I’ve always tried to take the “least unfair” route. In one management role, I found myself writing annual performance appraisals for employees who I hadn’t personally supervised during the review period. I had to go with the input of their assistant managers and my colleagues who had interacted with the employees, in addition to any formal recognition or counseling performed by my predecessor.

It was true that it wasn’t extremely fair to any one employee that I was the one who would be writing their reviews. There was no one else who could have done it, though. So I came up with the most unbiased system that I could. While most of the employees didn’t like it, I was able to communicate to them why it was our best option, how justice was still being done. No one disputed their review scores that year.

I’m human, but I sincerely try to take personal preference and relationships out of merit decisions in the workplace. I’ve promoted the most qualified individual from amongst their peers, despite it being an unpopular or awkward decision. I’ve also been in a position where I had to select which employees got their work hours cut to save on payroll -- at more than one company now. I don’t pick the employees I like to stay, and the ones who frustrate me to go home. I keep the top performers based on their performance alone, and make the tough call to furlough the ones who aren’t necessarily as productive or as effective.

I’ve been on the receiving end of justice in the past, of course. This has benefitted me at times and left me holding the short end of the stick in others. In the fall of 2002 I had an opportunity to attend additional technical training and obtain a secondary MOS, or Military Occupational Specialty. There were many more senior Marines in my unit who wanted to go, and several of them were better known to our commanding officer. I had demonstrated a passion for this additional skill in the past, and in addition to pursuing it as a personal hobby I’d also taken time on the weekends to train other Marines in my unit in the same skill set and share my knowledge of the subject. So when it came time to send a couple of representatives to training, it made sense that I was one of them.

I’ve also been denied additional training for just reasons in the past, and I didn’t hold a grudge about it. In 2007 when I was an assistant manager in a retail environment, I wanted to attend a two week leadership development course my organization was putting on at our corporate office. I was ambitious and performing well in my duties, and desperately wanted to go. We could only send so many people from our district, unfortunately, so another assistant manager who was closer to being ready to become a store manager got to go instead. Because my boss was able to explain to me the reasoning behind the decision, I was okay with it. Eventually I was able to attend two quarters later.

The Marines taught me a lot, and they’re a tough organization that isn’t for everyone. At the end of the day, though, the finest fighting force in the world is absolutely a meritocracy where the best of the best are rewarded and recognized. The same should be true of your leadership and management style regardless of where you work... but don’t feel obligated to be quite as gung-ho about it.

Have you ever communicated the results of a justly-made decision and found it received better than you expected? Please feel free to contribute to the discussion in the comments section! If you’ve enjoyed spending a few minutes reading “The Boss Perspective,” subscribe and share this site with your friends, Like me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @BossPerspective.