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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajieving. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellowledo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode seven point fifteen. I'll set the scene for you.

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<v Speaker 2>Two employees walk into your office, not together. Of course.

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<v Speaker 2>One comes in first, calm, organized, with a clear story.

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<v Speaker 2>The second comes in later, emotional, frustrated, and equally convinced

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<v Speaker 2>they are right, same situation, two completely different versions of

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<v Speaker 2>the truth. And now all eyes are on you because

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<v Speaker 2>this is where leadership gets real. This is where there

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<v Speaker 2>is no Paul to hide behind, no handbook to quote,

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<v Speaker 2>no checkbox that magically tells you what to do. This

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<v Speaker 2>is where you have to decide what is fair. And

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<v Speaker 2>let me tell you something right out of the gate.

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<v Speaker 2>Fair is not about making both people happy. Fair is

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<v Speaker 2>about making a decision you can stand behind when no

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<v Speaker 2>one is clapping for you. That is the difference between

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<v Speaker 2>a manager and a leader. So how do you do it? First,

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<v Speaker 2>you have to separate feelings from facts. Feelings matter, they

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<v Speaker 2>always matter, but they cannot be the steering wheel of

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<v Speaker 2>your decision. They can sit in the passenger seat, they

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<v Speaker 2>can talk, they can influence, but they do not get

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<v Speaker 2>to drive. Your job is to find the facts. What

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<v Speaker 2>actually happened, what can be proven, what can be observed,

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<v Speaker 2>what is consistent across both stories. You're not looking for

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<v Speaker 2>perfection here, You're looking for clarity, because once you have clarity,

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<v Speaker 2>you can move forward with confidence. Second, you have to

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<v Speaker 2>zoom out. Most leaders make the mistake of deciding fairness

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<v Speaker 2>based only on the moment in front of them, and

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<v Speaker 2>that is a trap. Fairness is not just about this

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<v Speaker 2>one situation. It is about your entire system of leadership.

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<v Speaker 2>Ask yourself, if I make this decision today, what message

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<v Speaker 2>does it send tomorrow to the rest of the team,

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<v Speaker 2>to your culture, to your standards, Because every decision you

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<v Speaker 2>make becomes a precedent, whether you realize it or not,

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<v Speaker 2>and your team is always watching, always. Third, you have

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<v Speaker 2>to anchor your decision in your values, not your mood,

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<v Speaker 2>not your stress level, not who you like, more your values, accountability, integrity, ownership.

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<v Speaker 2>If you have been listening to this podcast for any

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<v Speaker 2>amount of time, you know I talk about this constantly,

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<v Speaker 2>Because when you don't have a rule to follow, your

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<v Speaker 2>values become the rule. Let me say that again. When

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<v Speaker 2>there's no rule, your values are the rule. That is

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<v Speaker 2>what you base fairness on, not convenience, not popularity, not

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<v Speaker 2>avoiding conflict values. Fourth, you have to accept that fair

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<v Speaker 2>does not mean equal. This is where a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>leaders get tripped up. They think fairness means splitting the difference,

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<v Speaker 2>meeting in the middle, giving both sides a little something.

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<v Speaker 2>That's not fairness that is compromised for the sake of comfort.

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<v Speaker 2>Fairness is about giving each person what they have earned

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<v Speaker 2>based on their actions, their behavior and the impact they had.

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<v Speaker 2>Sometimes that means one person walks away feeling great and

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<v Speaker 2>the other doesn't. That does not mean your decision was wrong.

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<v Speaker 2>It means leadership is uncomfortable. Fifth, you have to communicate

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<v Speaker 2>your decision clearly. No corporate buzzwords, no vague language, no

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<v Speaker 2>hiding behind This is what we decided. You own it.

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<v Speaker 2>You explain what you saw, what you considered, and why

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<v Speaker 2>you made the decision you did. And here's the key.

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<v Speaker 2>You do it in a way that shows respect to

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<v Speaker 2>both people, even if the outcome is not in their favor.

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<v Speaker 2>Because people can accept decisions they do not like if

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<v Speaker 2>they believe the process was fair. That is leadership credibility

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<v Speaker 2>right there. And now I'll give you a quick story.

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<v Speaker 2>Years ago, I had two team members come to me

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<v Speaker 2>over a scheduling dispute. One said the other manipulated the schedule.

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<v Speaker 2>The other said they followed the process exactly. No clear

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<v Speaker 2>rule violation, no smoking guns. So I did three things.

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<v Speaker 2>I reviewed the system, I looked at past behavior, and

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<v Speaker 2>I asked one question, who is taking ownership and who

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<v Speaker 2>is deflecting it? That question told me everything I needed

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<v Speaker 2>to know, because fairness is not only about what happened.

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<v Speaker 2>It is about how people show up when it matters.

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<v Speaker 2>That is red key leadership, high consequence moments where your

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<v Speaker 2>behavior defines you. I made the decision. One person agreed,

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<v Speaker 2>the other did not, but both understood it, and more importantly,

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<v Speaker 2>the team understood it. That is how you build trust,

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<v Speaker 2>not by avoiding hard decisions, but by making them the

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<v Speaker 2>right way. So let me land this for you. When

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<v Speaker 2>you are faced with two different perspectives and no clear rule,

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<v Speaker 2>here is your playbook. First, find the facts, zoom out

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<v Speaker 2>and think long term anchor in your values. Understand that

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<v Speaker 2>fair is not always equal, and communicate with clarity. In ownership.

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<v Speaker 2>That is how you decide what is fair, not perfect,

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<v Speaker 2>not painlessly, but with integrity, and that is what your

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<v Speaker 2>team needs from you, not perfection leadership. And at the

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<v Speaker 2>end of the day, every decision you make is a

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<v Speaker 2>deposit into your leadership reputation. You are either building trust

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<v Speaker 2>or chipping away at it. So the next time two

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<v Speaker 2>people walk into your office with two different stories, don't

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<v Speaker 2>rush it, slow it down, think it through, stand on

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<v Speaker 2>your values because fairness is not found in a policy manual,

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<v Speaker 2>It's found in you. This has been the seven minute

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<v Speaker 2>Leadership podcast and I thank you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.