Summary

Case-by-case judgment is necessary. Case-by-case values are where things begin to break down.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the idea that leaders should handle situations on a case-by-case basis.

In my experience, that’s not only true – it’s necessary. No two people are exactly alike, and no two situations are identical. Good leaders use judgment to account for context, history, and individual circumstances. That judgment is meant to shape how decisions are made, not what the standards are.

Human beings make mistakes, and when we consider the complexities of life both inside and outside of our organizations, there will be plenty of times when making an exception is the right thing to do.

Where things begin to break down is when that flexibility extends to the standards and values themselves.

The Danger of Flexible Values

I once came across a senior member of a company’s management team who was allowed to demean and insult both employees and vendors. Despite the company’s core value of Compassion, the senior manager’s behavior never improved, even after complaints from inside and outside of the organization.

Years later, I randomly sat down at a conference lunch table with one of those vendors just as they were telling everyone else at the table how poorly they’d been treated at that company.

I wondered just how many times they’d told that story over the years and how much invisible damage had been done to the company’s reputation by their refusal to live their values.

Understand Where Flexibility Fits

Need flexibility over vacation time, doctor’s appointments, work deadlines? Those are situations where conversation and judgment matter.

But no title or amount of seniority should provide you with a “Get out of jail free” card when it comes to company values.

Tolerating someone who treats values as suggestions will make every statement you’ve made about those values seem like a lie. Over time, people don’t just question the individual – they begin to question the standard itself.

Leadership is about judgment and tradeoffs, but some things simply shouldn’t be traded.