Justice is a leader’s singular responsibility. We are to Ensure justice to individuals our their teams, throughout the organization and our communities. You can read part 1 here where we discussed Justice for individuals.
Justice for Organization
If an Engineer III in your department is at a lower pay grade than and Engineer III in a different department – that’s an injustice that must be fixed. Scapegoating HR is not an option. Partnering with HR is the way to fix this. If the jobs are different then change the titles so people know there is a difference. Justice must be served throughout the entire organization not just within your department. Otherwise, people will know the injustice being served and seeds of discontent will grow.
Looking at titles & respective pay grades (not just pay) should be a priority for you if you are new leader of a department. Pull in your peers and compare. Ensure your people are being treated fairly. If there is a difference in pay grades with the same titles, then change the title to reflect the difference in work.
A Board of Director’s, with their executives’, priority is to help with justice throughout the organization. How to achieve justice in the way an organization structures itself and functions will be done through making tough decisions. There will always be conflicting goods at stake. But this is why leadership is not for everyone. Tough decisions and being unpopular is the price to pay for leadership.
Justice for Society
If your team is just and the organization is a just organization, the influence on society will be just. Being attuned to the common good means being attuned to the common good of your local area. Responding to your community needs and supporting legislation efforts that will have positive impact on your community are ways to pursue justice in society. Using your organization’s available resources identify and enhance the common good is how your organization leads with justice.
Embracing your role in executing justice is the only way to be a transformative leader.