Leadership Trait of the Day: JUSTICE

In our examination of the Marine Corps Leadership traits, we will begin at the top of the JJ DID TIE BUCKLE list – with JUSTICE.

As stated the other day, the Marine Corps defines Justice as “administering a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.”  Okay, so what does that mean? 

We have all seen the pictures of “Justice” with her scales and her eyes covered – “Justice is blind.”  Meaning, everyone is treated the same, or, at least they are supposed to.  We all know what it feels like when we see people given special treatment – or especially bad treatment – for a non-defensible reason.  We have all looked at something at said “That’s not fair.” 

That is the point of how Justice fits into Leadership.  If you are going to be a good leader, your decisions have to be fair – all of them.  If you treat one employee different than the others, be it good or bad, you will poison your team.  If you treat yourself differently than the rest of your employees, you will be labeled a hypocrite, and no one will respect you. 

We all understand that to be a good Just Leader, we need to treat everyone the same.  Awards, punishments, vacations, etc. all have to be administered evenly and fairly. 

But, what happens when Justice requires that you treat someone differently?  That’s where a good leader makes their money. 

More after the jump. 

You are thinking – wait a minute, if Justice means everyone is treated the same, how can the right answer ever be to treat someone differently? 

Let’s answer that question with an example.  We have all seen that one guy or gal – the one who is dedicated, hard-working, and always giving their best effort.  They may not be the smartest or most talented employee, but they are your hardest worker.  What happens when they make a minor error?  Do you treat them the same as the employee who just glides by with the minimum?  No, you do not. 

You do not treat them the same, because no one would expect you to.  Everyone usually knows which of their peers puts out the most effort, and, maybe grudgingly, they all respect that person.  No one would expect your hard worker to be held accountable in the same manner.  Indeed, by holding your most dedicated employee accountable in the same manner, you are actually discouraging effort and hard work.  Other employees would think “That guy worked so hard, he didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”  This is not the same thing as playing favorites.  This is when an employee has earned some grace – that’s different. 

Again this example is for minor offenses – major mistakes need to be treated evenhandedly. 

So, how do you tell the difference?  Your gut feeling.  This is where Leaders really make their money.  This is also why Leadership is an art and not a science.  A good leader knows the difference between his people and knows when to treat them differently. 

Here is a Marine Corps example that I saw many times.  You have this one good young Marine; his uniform always looks great, he always volunteers to help for extra work, he is collegial, friendly and obedient.  One day he is five minutes late to his morning formation (a cardinal sin in the Marine Corps).  He gets his butt chewed by his platoon sergeant and maybe the company gunny.  A week later, your lazy, just skimming by Marine shows up five minutes late to formation, he gets chewed out by multiple folks, and gets some bonus attention from his chain of command.  No one bats an eye at the difference because the good, hard working Marine has earned a pass on a minor infraction. 

The way to think about this is “money in the bank.”  Your dedicated, hard-working employees have some credits your “discipline bank.”  So, when they make a minor mistake, these credits pay the fine.  If you think about it that way, you may be able to discern when you need to come down on someone, and when you shouldn't. 

So, to show Justice, you treat everyone impartially and consistently, until you shouldn't.