“Sorry. It’s policy.” This comment may be true, but it can also be a sign of a weak leader. Policies are not perfect – especially personnel policies. Leaders need to be willing to stand up and fight when needed.

Most companies have personnel policies, and the larger the company the more rigid the policies usually are. But, the rigidity of the policy does not always make it right.

Leaders fight for what is fair

Leaders fight for what is fair

A Policy Case Study

Early in my career as a leader in a Fortune 50 company, I had a senior leader stand up and fight a policy on my behalf. It was a new personnel policy that was about to keep me from moving my family back to Texas for personal reasons.

My team had just won our company’s highest sales award, but the policy had stipulations in it that would prevent me from taking over a sales team in Texas.

When we appealed the decision, the HR department told my boss that since it was a new policy, they could not let the very first case where the policy was tested be an exception to the new rule. HR said,

“That would set a bad precedent.”

At that point, the Vice President of our division stepped in and challenged the HR department. He fought for an exception and won. Two years later my team in Texas earned the company’s top sales award as well.

My Vice President made the right decision. He made sure I was treated fairly by the company. I stayed with the company another decade, and my teams won multiple awards during that time.

Measuring A Good Policy

Policies are set up for good reasons. Personnel policies are meant to insure people are treated consistently across an organization. Good policies work in a majority of the situations.

The best policies work about 80% of the time. Very few policies can be written to handle all the variables that can occur and that should be considered.

A leader needs to step in when the situation is outside that 80%! There are exceptions to every rule, especially when a leader is dealing with people.

The Courage To Fight

When a leader automatically uses the phrase, “It’s policy”, that is a cop out.

Without thinking the leader falls back on the policy and treats every person and every situation equally.  A leader should not be looking to treat people equally. A leader should strive to treat everyone fairly.

When policies are applied to everyone without thought or consideration, that leader has shirked his responsibility to both his people and his company.

Even the best policies will have exceptions (20%). It takes a real leader to recognize when it is time to fight for his people.

An exception does not invalidate the policy. There are exceptions to every rule. A policy is invalidated when the exceptions become the rule. In that case, the policy needs to be reworked.

The Bottom Line:

Even the best personnel policies need to be applied fairly. When a situation challenges a policy, it takes a real leader to step in and think. When the policy is applied without thinking, that is management not leadership.

A leader who falls back on the policy without thinking abdicates his responsibility to his people and the larger organization. Following policy is not always the best solution.

When my Vice President fought for what was fair, he did what was right for me and my family. Therefore he did what was right for the company. I probably would have found another company in Texas to hire me.

When we choose to fight a policy, for the right reasons, we strengthen the trust we have with our people. When our knee jerk reaction is “It’s policy”, trust will erode.

My people need to believe I will fight for them if they fall into that 20%. They need to know I will have to courage to fight for what is fair and not fall back on the idea of equality.  I may not always win these fights, but I must be willing to engage in them.

Question:

When was the last time you witnessed a leader fight for someone who fell into that 20%?