Being a business leader is a bit like being a parent; you have to make sure that everyone under your umbrella is physically, emotionally, and financially cared for while also ensuring that they are taking productive steps toward success. And, like a parent, a business leader should never show favoritism for some members of their workforce over others.
Unfortunately, business leaders are human (just like parents), and many do act on their preferences and treat their favorites better than their other workers — unintentionally or otherwise. As a business leader, you need to pay close attention to the behavior of fellow managers and intervene when you recognize the signs of favoritism in your workplace.
Signs of Favoritism to Watch for
It is natural for people to prefer some colleagues over others. After all, some workers are better at being team players; some have similar interests and passions, and some are more socially engaging than others. Still, it is imperative that business leaders avoid demonstrating their personal and professional preferences at work, as doing so will create a culture of competition and resentment — which, it should go without saying, is not ideal.
Unfortunately, not all business leaders are capable of keeping their employee preferences to themselves. Some signs that a fellow manager is not only picking but showing favorites include:
Spending more time with certain employees, both formally (discussing work-related topics) and informally (joking, casual conversations.
Covering up certain employees’ mistakes, perhaps using formal authority to do so.
Assigning better projects or resources to certain employees, regardless of performance or workload.
Providing praise only to certain employees, despite the importance of every team member to be engaged through recognition.
Mentoring or providing career development to certain employees, especially if formal career development programs are not available to all.
Offering unfair performance evaluation, either favoring certain employees or snubbing others.
Considering suggestions from certain employees, while ignoring feedback from others.
How to Intervene
Employees have few opportunities to combat blatant favoritism. Aside from issuing complaints to HR — which might or might not be addressed, depending on corporate structure and culture — most workers’ only option is to leave their toxic workplace for healthier employment elsewhere. Thus, it is imperative that managers who can identify favoritism intervene to stop it before it causes strife in the workplace. As a business leader, you have much more power to make a difference in a fellow leader’s behavior than regular workers through the following actions:
Talk to your colleague. It might be that your colleague is displaying their favoritism without realizing it. In a one-on-one conversation, you should draw attention to how their behavior is favoring some employees over others and jeopardizing the healthy and positive workplace culture the company has worked to cultivate. You might provide one or two examples if they ask for them, but you should try to avoid sounding harshly judgmental. More likely than not, they will appreciate your perspective and alter their behavior going forward.
Talk to your superiors. If your conversation does not alter a colleague’s behavior — especially if they reacted poorly to the information — you might bring the issue to the next level of business leadership. A reprimand from an executive might be more likely to change a lower-level leader’s attitude and actions. You might ensure that your concerns about your colleague are put in writing and saved in their HR file, to protect yourself should your colleague be investigated for other nefarious behavior.
Introduce anti-favoritism processes. There are a few tools and processes that can reduce the development of favoritism in the workplace. For example, an employee recognition program like Workhuman helps managers track which workers have received praise and appreciation when, so every team member can be appropriately engaged through recognition.
Utilize mentors and coaches. Everyone has unconscious biases, and it is important that business leaders identify and work to eliminate those biases that can negatively impact their work. Mentors and executive coaches can help managers see how their behavior could be biased before it causes problems, so you can campaign for a mentorship or coaching program in your organization.
A workplace is not just one big happy family, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t parallels between appropriate behavior from parents and business leaders. By thwarting favoritism at work, leaders can create a healthier, happier work environment for all.