If you worry about becoming a bad boss, a new study from Michigan State University may make you feel nervous. Researchers found that the act of carefully monitoring the fairness of workplace decisions wears down supervisors mentally and emotionally. Fairness is apparently a doubled edged sword in that it could spell burnout for the boss but produce a happier workforce and a more productive organization.
According to the study, managers who tried to be fair were less cooperative and socially engaging with other workers the next day. The leaders also would make more mistakes.
From the research, some might wonder if being a kind and considerate boss is not a good thing. These people are missing the boat. We don’t need more bosses to travel to the dark side. We need more good bosses who are taking control of their productive time and not allowing fairness disputes to dominate their lives.
To protect yourself from letting workplace exhaustion turning you into a bad boss, consider these tips:
Remember Your Prime Responsiblity
Unless you are wearing a zebra stripped shirt, your prime responsibility is not to referee disputes. It can be part of your job but it should not be allowed to dominate it.
You are not a parent to your employees (even if you share some of the same DNA). You are a leader who is responsible for an outcome. Honor that outcome first. This may involve not instantly responding to a problem. Dropping everything to address an unexpected but not critical issue is a sure way to lose control of your productive time.
Limit Discussion
When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a case, the time allotted for each attorney is 30 minutes. I’m sure the attorneys would happily talk all day but that doesn’t help the Justices do their jobs.
Set limits on how long you will spend on an issue of fairness. Let the involved parties understand that you’re there to make a decision. They should present their facts and options to you in a way that makes making a decision an simple process.
You need to be able to ask questions about the information that’s provided. But you don’t have time to dig for every fact and then weigh its importance.
Be Decisive
When it comes time to make a decision, make your decision. There’s a rarely a decision that everyone will like. Sometimes, the right decision will produce short term pain but long term success. Not everyone is going to see it that way.
This is the burden of leadership and perhaps the thing that makes letting go of work the hardest at the end of the day. The thing to remember is that you only need to make the best decision possible. You took the time to consider a problem, weighed your options, and made a decision. That’s leadership.
The trap is feeling that you have to come up with a solution where everyone wins. That’s not always possible. Being fair does not give you magic powers to fix every wrong. Sometimes your best solution will fix very little. Accept that you did your best, let go, and come back the next day.
