Fair Process Leadership
The chances of embedding change rise significantly when using fair processes. In fact, research shows that people care four times more about the fairness of the process through which a change is produced than they do about the outcome itself.
In simple terms, fair process exists where the participants in the decision-making process understand the process to be followed and the associated rules and modes of engagement, and perceive them to be fair with respect to all participants.
Fair Process Leadership is a model developed by Prof. van der Heyden to successfully embed fair process and trust into company culture. It involves leaders actively engaging and connecting with people and teams: in effect, listening more, asking more and telling less.
This model represents an interlinked cycle for decision making, implementation and continuous review. It consists of five steps (5 E’s) and five fair play behaviours (5 C’s) that leaders need to demonstrate throughout these steps:
Van der Heyden, L. and Woodward, I.C. (2016) “INVOLVE” – A Toolkit For Fair Process Communication, INSEAD, Jun 9; Woodward, I.C., More, E.A. and Van der Heyden, L. (2016) ‘Involve’: The Foundation for Fair Process Leadership Communication, SSRN, Feb.
Action Point
Review your mindset about what fair process is to you. What capabilities do you have and/or need to implement effective change?