By Sharon E. Harrington, MA, CPTD
As August arrives, many of us begin thinking about transitions. Children return to school. Parents adjust schedules. Employees juggle new routines. Caregivers try to balance work responsibilities with the needs of aging parents, spouses, or family members. Managers prepare for changing workloads as vacations end and business picks up.
It is also a good time to ask an important leadership question:
Do the people in your organization believe they are being treated fairly?
Notice I didn’t ask whether your organization is fair. I asked whether people believe it is.
That distinction makes a difference.
Throughout my career as an EEO investigator, workplace consultant, and leadership facilitator, I have learned that people often judge fairness long before they evaluate the facts. They watch how decisions are made. They notice who receives opportunities. They observe whether policies are applied consistently. They remember how they were treated during difficult conversations.
Fairness is not simply found in a policy manual. It is experienced every day.
When employees perceive fairness, trust grows. Engagement increases. Communication becomes more open. Even when difficult decisions must be made, people are more likely to accept the outcome if they believe the process was fair.
When they do not, the opposite often occurs. Doubt replaces trust. Assumptions replace communication. Good intentions become questioned. Small concerns can quickly grow into formal complaints, grievances, or conflict.
As investigators, we often examine whether an employer followed the law. But organizations should also ask another question:
Did our actions demonstrate fairness in a way employees could see and understand?
Those are not always the same thing.
Fairness Shows Up in Small Moments
Fairness is reflected in everyday leadership decisions:
- Who receives developmental opportunities?
- Who is invited to contribute to important conversations?
- How are flexible work requests evaluated?
- Are caregiver responsibilities considered consistently?
- Are expectations communicated clearly to everyone?
- Is feedback given with the same level of honesty and respect regardless of position?
Employees notice these moments because they collectively define an organization’s culture.
This is particularly relevant as many workplaces navigate back-to-school schedules and caregiver responsibilities. While not every request can be approved, every request deserves thoughtful, consistent consideration.
People do not necessarily expect identical outcomes.
They expect fair consideration.
Fairness Is a Leadership Competency
In my Leadership for the Learning Organization (LLO) program, one of the leadership competencies we explore is fairness—not simply as a personal value, but as a leadership behavior.
Leaders create learning cultures when employees believe they have equal opportunities to contribute, develop, and succeed.
Fairness encourages people to ask questions.
Fairness makes it safe to admit mistakes.
Fairness supports innovation because employees are less afraid of being judged differently than others.
Perhaps most importantly, fairness creates credibility.
Without credibility, leaders struggle to build trust.
Without trust, organizations struggle to learn.
The Invisible Messages We Send
One concept I frequently discuss is that organizations communicate far more than they intend.
- Policies communicate.
- Recognition programs communicate.
- Performance evaluations communicate.
- Meeting invitations communicate.
- Promotion decisions communicate.
- Even silence communicates.
These visible actions create invisible messages about what—and who—is truly valued.
Organizations that intentionally examine these messages are often surprised by what employees are experiencing.
Sometimes the gap is not between policy and practice.
It is between intention and perception.
A Question Worth Asking
As summer comes to a close and organizations prepare for a busy fall, this may be one of the most valuable questions leaders can ask themselves:
If I were one of my employees, would I believe this organization gives everyone an equal opportunity to succeed?
The answer may reveal more about your culture than any employee survey ever could.
Fairness is not simply something organizations promise.
It is something employees experience.
And when fairness is consistently experienced, trust grows, learning accelerates, and organizations become stronger—one decision, one policy, and one interaction at a time.
Coming Soon: Leadership for the Learning Organization (LLO) Series
In our Leadership for the Learning Organization (LLO) series, we explore how fairness influences trust, learning, engagement, and organizational culture.
Fairness is not simply about treating people equally—it is about creating an environment where everyone believes they have a genuine opportunity to learn, contribute, and succeed.
Interested in bringing this series to your team? Learn more about the Leadership for the Learning Organization (LLO) program and join the waitlist.