Equal is not always fair

By Myrna Selzler

Six kids were dancing, yelling and hyperventilating to Jingle Bells as they performed an annual ritual: trying on new running shoes.

The clerk was as stressed as Santa’s elves as he ran to the back of the sports store looking for the right shoes, in the right colour, in the right size. He did it enough times that his soles needed Shoe Goo.

He wasn’t as festive as the kids or the music; he looked like he was going to cry.

But we — parents and grandparents — were never in a rush. This was a ritual, a pleasant one for us as well.

Running shoe shopping day has become a family event everyone looks forward to.

It is easier for me than Christmas shopping.

I paid the bill as the clerk hit his head on the counter and we, minus the clerk, surged out of the store to our second part of the ritual: pizza at our favourite locally owned, independent shop.

The server has been there long enough that she knows us and our routine. We know she is a bright, capable single mom … and a patient server for a motley crew like the 12 of us.

We nibble the last crusts of pizza into nothingness and the time approaches for me to have a potentially awkward conversation with the older daughter.

After a hug strong enough to be felt through our winter jackets, I pull off my gloves and take an envelope from my pocket.

“I want to give this to your sister. She could use it, but I don’t have anything of equal value to give you right now.”

My daughter smiles at me with a look of wisdom. “Remember, we are sisters, not twins.”

Oh, yeah, like at work. It doesn’t need to be equal. It needs to be fair.

I’m reminded of the two managers I had in my company, both with very different responsibilities and very different ways to measure their success.

They are the best I could want in their roles. They stay in their lanes and do first-class work while offering support to one another and to me in any way possible.

It is 3 p.m. on the last day of the month. My two managers hover behind me, one at each shoulder, papers clenched in their hands.

I open our favourite document on my screen: the spreadsheet of their departments’ monthly accomplishments.

They look at their summary sheets and announce their measured contribution to our corporate bottom line. I type their numbers in, hit enter and presto! A graph appears, and we “Oooooh” or “Ohhhhh,” depending on the direction of the arrows. Most months, the arrows are pointed up.

High fives all around, if not for the inclined graph, but for the great effort and team support. I sign two bonus cheques, and they are off to finish their day’s work.

During my time coaching managers, I have often heard them express regret for not being more generous with their team members.

As a young, inexperienced entrepreneur, I was afraid to pay people too much because if we didn’t do well the next month, I wouldn’t be able to pay them.

I also worried that if I overpaid them they might not “earn their keep,” might never leave, or they would decide they hated the job but the “golden handcuffs” would keep them tied to me, which wouldn’t be beneficial for either of us.

My scope broadened as I matured as a leader and entrepreneur.

I paid bonuses based on criteria within each role. If the income went down and the goals were not met, there would be no or smaller bonuses, but I could afford the salary.

The bonuses were not equal, but they were fair. Different roles had different stress levels, different time and talent requirements, different opportunities and constraints.

I realized that the concern about “earning their keep” was invalid. The Law of Reciprocity states that if someone does something nice for you, like pay you well, you will have a deep psychological urge to reciprocate.

You may even reciprocate with a gesture far more generous than their original good deed, like stay late to get a project completed without the expectation of anything in return.

The inverse is also true. Be stingy with rewards, and people will be stingy with effort.

The concern about them not leaving when they want to or should. That one weighs on my shoulders. If I have not mentored, coached and held them accountable so that they are offering value, then that is on me.

If I have hired wrong, haven’t done enough training or given them clear direction, then I must pay that price financially and with resources, like time spent to re-train someone or paying a severance package.

I have also found it very important to always have my radar highly tuned to the connection between their work life and personal life.

In my Chameleon Communicator workshop, one of the questions I ask participants is: Have you ever been mismanaged?

With their leader in the room, looking at each of them, they shuffle in their seats.

It is an awkward moment. “Aside from this particular job,” I comment wryly.

The hands go up, stories to tell. Yes, at the end of each day, they left work, argued with the spouse, yelled at the kids, kicked the dog and vegged out on the couch. In the end, they had to move on to an environment where they could be happier, more fulfilled.

An employee who is paid well and treated well is more content. When they go home, they won’t release their frustrations and financial stresses on to their family.

The fair, or even better than fair, compensation is amortized over the costs of training someone new, the time and productivity lost due to the learning curve of a new role, and the intellectual property that can walk out the door.

Profit is the natural outcome of being generous with your team, taking the long view and remembering that it’s more important to be fair than equal because your team members are “siblings, not twins.”

Myrna Selzler is a lifelong entrepreneur who works with organizations and individuals to turn their passion into impact. The former owner of Century 21 Assurance in Kelowna uses her experience to build value in organizations. She is certified in behaviour and motivation analysis, emotional intelligence, as well as being a growth curve strategist and a certified value builder adviser. She can be reached at [email protected].

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.