How to incorporate the value of neutrality into your leadership

Do leaders approach every issue from a neutral position? Of course not.

By the very nature of being a leader, they have a bias to action. They are on a mission and need to make things happen that bring them closer to their vision.

If you stand in the way of a leader fulfilling their mission or inadvertently try and shift the focus away from their vision, then you will experience the full force of the leader’s bias. This is normal and should be expected.

But can a leader be objective and fair in their dealings with others? Can they remain neutral when assessing a situation or dealing with an issue?

We’d like to think so. But as humans we are all biased. Just look at sports, politics and religion. Thus, there’s an argument that no one can truly be neutral – including leaders.

Consider the following:

• Can a parent treat their squabbling children in an evenhanded manner?
• Can the minister of a church treat all members with the same level of love and respect, regardless of the size of offerings?
• Can a manager remain neutral when investigating why an employee’s productivity has suddenly dropped?
• Can the owner of a fast-growing company approach interested investors from an unbiased viewpoint?

You likely have no trouble providing an answer to all of these issues, believing you’re approaching it from a neutral position. But if we’re all naturally biased, how then does one remain neutral?

Neutrality as a Value

As a differentiating value, Neutrality means the absence of declared bias; evenhanded or fairly. The key word here is “declared.”

Instead of hiding your bias, declare it. And then prove your fairness.

If you openly acknowledge your own biases and show you’re working hard to keep them in check, then you are demonstrating your intent of remaining neutral. This, in turn, increases trust and confidence in your leadership abilities.

So based on the value of neutrality, let’s consider possible responses to the list of issues highlighted above:

• Parent: “I don’t tolerate calling each other names. What’s causing you both to squabble with each other?”
• Minister: “I appreciate everyone’s financial support, and treat every offering the same, regardless of size. How can I help you make the greatest impact in God’s work here?”
• Manager: “I expect our employees to handle 12-15 projects at a time. Over the past few months, you’re average has dropped to less than 7 projects. Is everything ok? Is there something I should know that will help me explain this difference to others?”
• Owner: “We’re really interested in investors who want to be with us for the long haul. What are your expectations from investing in our company?”

Regardless of the issue or challenge, if you can clearly state your bias upfront, then you can form your questions and statements from the neutral standpoint of trying to be fair.

An interesting observation about the value of neutrality is that it’s always easier to spot when someone else is being biased. Our own biases are so engrained into our belief system that we are often unaware we’re being biased in our own thinking.

Therefore, if you want to truly be fair in all your dealings as a leader, embrace the value of neutrality and openly declare your biases. Then show you are working hard to keep them in check. This will show you are still human, but trying to be a better leader.

 

What other examples would show the value of neutrality in action?