As leaders these days we are rightly expected to be well versed in fairness. Ensuring that we make fair decisions, create fair opportunities (as well as equal access) for our colleagues and co-workers, and that we address any inequities that may come to our attention. But have you ever considered what fairness really means?
The dictionary describes it as ‘impartial and just treatment or behaviour without favouritism or discrimination’ and I’m sure most of us would feel that this is what we strive for as leaders. As we know though, our conditioning, personal, cultural, societal and national, can mean that our ability to really see and perceive injustice can be clouded – unconscious if you will.
The systems and beliefs that have defined our organisations, society and our lives can become so familiar and accepted that we are unable to see the inherent injustice within them. Take for example the payment of taxes. Most of us are in the tax system and paying all that we are required to pay. But what about the companies and organisations we work for? What do we know of their tax practices? Or when we think about the hiring practices – how open is the company to creating real opportunity for people from all backgrounds and situations? What stories do we tell ourselves about why certain rules, hurdles, conditions, policies and practises are in place and how fair are they in reality?
Without fairness at the heart of our lives, we condemn our fellow citizens (and ourselves) to impoverished lives – financially, intellectually and culturally. Fairness isn’t about everyone being the same, it’s about everyone have fair access to opportunities and a chance to create a decent life using the talents they have or are able to develop. Sadly many aspects of our society are conditioned and set up in a fundamentally unfair way meaning that too many people are excluded and kept within a limited space. We may think that race and gender inequality for example is a thing of the past, but in reality many deep seated and subtle barriers to fairness still play out every day.
Our responsibility as leaders goes beyond seeking to be impartial or just, it extends to bringing real challenge – firstly to ourselves and our own conditioning and beliefs to ensure as much as we can that we aren’t simply blindly going along with things and missing the blocks that exist. We also have the responsibility to step up and challenge the system within which we live and work. We might find ourselves saying things like ‘but what can I do, the system is so big’. In truth, humans create the systems within which we function and therefore humans can change them – if we are determined enough to do so.
There are many individuals and institutions focused on showcasing the inequities and injustices that exist systemically in our world…the question for each of us is are we paying attention and are we playing our part in supporting, joining with and advocating and driving change in every single corner of our sphere of influence?