In this article, we delve into the key tactics to maintain balance as a leader - an often overlooked aspect of improvement initiatives.
You balance strong and fair leadership by being firm on standards and flexible on people: set clear expectations, apply them the same way to everyone, and explain your reasons. Strong leaders hold the line on safety and quality. Fair leaders listen first, stay consistent and treat mistakes as learning. Protecting your own energy keeps both steady.
At a glance
- The short answer: be firm on the standard and fair in how you apply it, the same rules for everyone, with reasons given.
- Strong means: clear expectations, accountability and the courage to have hard conversations early.
- Fair means: consistency, listening before judging and a no-blame response to mistakes.
- What keeps both steady: four kinds of personal balance (physical, intellectual, emotional, social) and a written routine.
- Related: what is leader standard work?, leader standard work: the basics, setting expectations and creating a no-blame culture.
That elusive work-life balance is something that feels tantalisingly close but we never quite get there. More often than not we find ourselves at the other end of the spectrum. We end up out of sync with one or more areas in life. The sacrifices we have made in those areas are generally nowhere near worth the benefit of the thing (usually work) we dedicated our time to.
As Leaders in work, in our home, and in the community, it is critical we are able to present the best version of ourselves consistently. In order to achieve this we must attain a sense of balance and harmony within ourselves and external worlds.
How do you balance strong and fair leadership?
Strong and fair are not opposites. Strong leadership is about the standard: what good looks like, who is accountable and what happens when it is missed. Fair leadership is about how that standard is applied: consistently, openly and with respect for the person. Problems start when a leader leans on one at the expense of the other. All strength and no fairness breeds fear and hidden problems. All fairness and no strength leaves standards drifting and the best people carrying the rest.
Five habits keep the two in balance:
- Set the expectation before you hold anyone to it. People cannot meet a standard they have never seen. Write it down, show an example and agree how it will be checked. See setting expectations.
- Apply the same rule to everyone. Fairness is mostly consistency. If a rule bends for favourites, it is no longer a standard.
- Listen first, then decide. Ask what happened and what got in the way before concluding anything. Then make the call and explain it.
- Separate the person from the process. When something goes wrong, look at the system first. A no-blame approach finds causes without excusing the standard.
- Have the hard conversation early and privately. Small gaps raised promptly are easier and fairer than large ones saved for a review. A regular gemba walk gives you the facts to do it well.
A leader who is tired, stretched or reactive finds all five harder. That is why personal balance matters, and why the four elements below are the foundation.
Why it's Important to Maintain Balance as a Leader
Continuous improvement relies heavily on a leader's ability to lead from a place of respect, service, empathy and integrity. Lean thinking requires leaders to communicate clearly, openly, and consistently work to serve the team in order to reach their process and improvement objectives.
All of this occurs while elevating others. Not to mention developing the emerging and current leadership capability in their sphere of influence.
4 Elements to Maintain Balance as a Leader
Giving ourselves a structure and framework from which to view balance is the critical first step. Everyone will have their own perspective on this however, I believe there are four key elements to maintain balance as a leader successfully and as a human being.
1) Physical
Protect the asset – our health is our wealth. Leadership is demanding in every sense, particularly on our bodies. Leaders require everlasting energy to propel them through the day, the month, the year, the next project.
Leaders need to ensure they are physically able, that they have a clear mind and can achieve focus consistently every day. As our bodies age and our lives become fuller this challenge grows. If your health and physical wellbeing are in poor shape then everything else suffers – you might be overweight, fatigued, at risk of chronic illness - your immune system will be compromised.
The remedy is simple – eat well, sleep well, exercise regularly and monitor the key indicators such as your healthy weight range and have regular check-ups for a person of your age. Find positive ways to deal with stress and anxiety and you'll find it much easier to maintain balance as a leader.
2) Intellectual
Leaders must continuously work to improve themselves, their knowledge and learning capability. Intellectual balance comes with maintaining a beginners or growth mindset. We must maintain curiosity and non-judgement. We must genuinely want to be challenged and learn.
Intellectual stimulation comes from seeking knowledge through reading, further professional or personal development. That includes being prepared to ask questions, challenge our beliefs, speak less and listen more. It's important to practice humility and acknowledge how much we don't know.
Continued growth and intellectual stimulation contributes to our mental acuity – or mental sharpness. As a leader it is critical to maintain excellent levels of mental acuity to help us optimise and improve:
- Processing speed and comprehension
- Working memory (making decisions and problem solving)
- Episodic memory (recalling events, people and places)
- Focus and pay attention to the right things
- Situational awareness / judgement
Other things that can help us optimise our mental state are things like sleep, diet, exercise, mindfulness or meditation, and brain training. A fully functioning brain with improved cognitive health allows leaders to operate at the highest capacity.
Cognitive health is not fixed. It can improve or decline, like physical health. Regardless of genetic and environmental factors good habits can be acquired to improve and maintain cognition.
3) Emotional
Maintaining an emotional balance is critical for successful leadership. Our job as leaders first and foremost is to keep our people safe and in order to do that we must behave in a calm and consistent manner.
A leader's journey must start with self-awareness and more importantly self-control. That self-control and discipline ensures that leaders words, action and behaviours stay consistent and build trust and integrity in the environment.
Emotional stability and balance comes with an understanding that emotions are normal and will pass through the body and mind. The challenge is not to react to the stimulus and for leaders to maintain a calm and positive mindset regardless of the situation. Whether things are going to crap, or whether they are going swimmingly, a leader must provide stability and certainty in their behaviour.
4) Social
Balance from a social aspect is about keeping and maintaining the key relationships in your life. All too often the work itself or work relationships and acquaintances can take precedence over those closest to us. We must never take for granted the people who should matter most – our immediate loved ones and families.
It means that we must establish and maintain boundaries that protect those relationships. Our time and attention has to be prioritised to ensure those relationships are nurtured appropriately.
It is also about surrounding yourself with the right people and seeking guidance from role models, mentors and people who inspire you. The question is: what sort of person / leader do you want to be? Are you prepared to continuously pursue the very best version of yourself through discipline and perseverance?
Balance is found when we can compartmentalise these competing demands. It is found when we ensure we are not short changing or sacrificing our responsibilities as spouses, parents and children at the expense of work.
Frequently asked questions about strong and fair leadership
How do you balance being strong and fair as a leader?
Be firm on the standard and consistent in applying it. Set clear expectations, treat everyone by the same rules, listen before judging and raise problems early. Strength protects the standard, and fairness keeps people's trust while it is enforced.
Can a leader be too nice?
Yes. Kindness without clear standards leaves problems unaddressed and lets the best performers carry the rest. Being fair does not mean avoiding hard conversations. It means having them early, privately and with the facts.
Why do leaders lose balance?
Because the urgent is visible and the important is not. Without a written routine, the day fills with whatever arrives, and the meetings, walks and coaching that prevent tomorrow's fires are the first things dropped.
How does leader standard work help with balance?
It turns the important routines into scheduled, visible commitments with times, so they are protected and can be audited. It also shows the leader's own manager what the day is supposed to contain.
How does a tiered daily management system reduce the load on leaders?
Issues are resolved at the lowest tier able to resolve them and only escalated with context when needed, so leaders deal with the few problems that genuinely need them rather than everything that reaches their inbox.
Why does it take discipline to maintain balance as a leader?
Ultimately if we find ourselves lacking or unbalanced in any of these areas then everything else will inevitably suffer or break. To maintain balance as a leader you must endeavour to create sustainable structures in life that have a holistic approach to the facets listed above. It's not a case of keeping everything perfectly in balance at all times but understanding where the checks and balances are and being aware when things start to slip or drift keeps us in a position to right the ship.