Leadership Dilemmas – The Difference Between Fair and Equal

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Leadership Dilemmas – The Difference Between Fair and Equal

Are you treating all your employees in a fair and equal manner? I hope not! These two words are often considered synonymous, Roget’s Thesaurus lists equal as a synonym for fair, but they are very different.

Let’s say I have two employees, Jack and Jill. Jack has been with the company for 18 months while Jill is a more recent addition. Since I strive to be fair, I have ensured that Jack and Jill both have everything they need to do their jobs. They are both held to the same standards and were provided the same instructions and policies when they were hired. Also, both have been given opportunities to lead small teams. They each started out with equal opportunity.

But they aren’t equal.

Jill has really excelled. She puts in the extra effort to produce extremely high quality results. Her team leadership is very effective and has resulted in resolution of several problems that hampered the company.

Jack on the other hand has been content with a mediocre performance. He’s made it very clear that he understands his job description and doesn’t intend to expand beyond what that document says. His team leadership is laissez faire at best and sometimes almost toxic. He accomplishes what he is tasked to do and nothing more and his work never seems to go beyond the minimum standards.

Business has been good this year and the company has made some extra money. I’ve decided to use some of that bounty to provide a bonus to employees. If I want to treat Jack and Jill equally, I’ll give them both an equal share of the bonus.

But, is that fair?

Here’s another example. Occasionally, I come across an establishment that asks patrons to place tips in a tip jar, rather than giving them to individuals. At the end of the day, employees split the tip jar. Everyone gets an equal share.

That makes it equal, but is it fair?

In both of these cases, equal is decidedly unfair. It is unfair that Jack should receive an equal share of the bonus that was largely earned by other’s harder and more effective work. Likewise, the server who provides minimum service will share in the greater tips brought in by the server who is harder working, more diligent, and more professional.

Giving everyone equal opportunity is certainly fair. Each person in the organization should have the same opportunity to succeed. Treating them as if they each produce at an equal rate is not fair to those who work hard and strive to excel.