Who got what: a monthly fairness check.

The interesting work goes to the people you trust. The visible work goes to the people who are around. The development goes to the people who ask. The flexibility goes to the people who need it most loudly. None of this is a decision. All of it is a pattern, and after a year it is the pattern your team describes when they talk about fairness.

Once a month, list it

1. Who got the interesting work, the visible work, the development opportunities, the flexibility, the benefit of the doubt.
2. If the same names keep appearing, change the next allocation on purpose. Do not announce it; just do it.
3. Keep looking. The pattern reasserts itself the moment you stop.

In the room, every day

When someone is talked over, bring it back to them in the moment: “Hang on, Jo was in the middle of something.” Light, firm, every time, not only when it is bad. Afterwards, nothing: no lecture. Inclusion is built in seconds, in the room, by the person with the most standing, and in your team that is you.

Once a quarter, ask

In one-to-ones: “Is there anything going on round here that does not feel fair to you? I would rather know.” Listen without defending. Ask what would make it fair. Act on what you can and say plainly what you cannot. If anything you hear suggests discrimination or harassment, it is no longer a quiet word: follow your organisation’s process. The CMI and YouGov study (Taking Responsibility, 2023) found trained managers more likely than untrained ones to call out bad behaviour; asking is where that starts.

Write it down

The monthly list, and what you changed. It is the evidence of fairness, or the evidence you needed in order to change.