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Leaders need to be secure enough in their own skin
Coaching a bunch of energetic 5-6 year old kids in tee-ball is really just controlled chaos. Tee-ball is normally the introduction to baseball that children experience at age 5-6, and generally speaking, most leagues dont keep an official score for tee-ball games. The purpose isnt to win, its to teach the fundamental skills and rules of baseball. Notice that I said the leagues dont keep an official score. I remember many occasions while coaching tee-ball that kids in the dugout would be tallying up the score to see who was winning and losing! Fast forward 20 years or so to the workplace and we find that not much has changed. Adults are still keeping score, only now its about who received the new project, promotion, or corner office. And as soon as someone perceives the leader made an unjust decision, the first thing we hear is exactly what five-year old tee-ballers say when they think another player has violated the rules: Thats not fair! Leaders aiming to build trust in relationships need to pay particular attention to the issue of fairness. No problem, you may say, I treat everyone the same, no matter what. Actually, that can be one of the most unfair things you do! A quote from Aristotle speaks to this: There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals. People should be treated equitably and ethically, given their individual needs and circumstances, and the differences between people should be recognized and valued, not diminished. In order to build and maintain trust with followers, leaders need to exhibit fairness through the distribution of organizational resources and application of policies to all team members. Its helpful to understand exactly what fairness means in an organizational context. Fairness is composed of two main elements: distributive justice and procedural justice. Distributive justice is fairness in the organizations pay, rewards, and benefits for employees. Procedural justice is fairness in the organizations decision-making processes of how those rewards and benefits are doled out. Of the two, procedural justice is the element most under control of individual leaders and is the aspect of fairness most closely linked with building or eroding trust with followers. Based on research from The Ken Blanchard Companies, procedural justice was ranked as the most important organizational factor for employee retention. Additionally, over 60% of respondents believed the primary responsibility for influencing and improving procedural justice rested with their immediate supervisor. So how can leaders be fair and build trust with their team members? Heres a few suggestions: Be transparent - Share information about the criteria and process that you use to make decisions. Putting all your cards on the table eliminates doubt and mistrust. Increase involvement in decision-making - As much as possible, involve the people who will be affected by your decisions in the process. People who plan the battle rarely battle the plan. Play by the rules - Clearly establish the rules, play by them, and hold others and yourself accountable to following them. Listen with the idea of being influenced - Dont make the mistake of thinking that you know it all. Ask others for their input and genuinely listen with an open mind and be willing to change course if needed. Dont play favorites - No one likes a teachers pet so dont create one. That will eliminate a key source of jealousy. Save spin for the gym, not the office - Be authentic and genuine in your communications. People see through the political spin.
Remember, your people are keeping score of your every behavior. Play fair! SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1hlmX8z, this factual content has not been modified from the source. This content is syndicated news that can be used for your research, and we hope that it can help your productivity. This content is strictly for educational purposes and is not made for any kind of commercial purposes of this blog. |
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