Monday Morning Motivational Message - Treating Equally vs. Treating Fairly

Do you think everyone should be treated equally?

Think about the answer to that question for a moment.

We hear a lot about equal treatment these days, that everyone should be treated equally.

But equal treatment implies that everyone has the same skill set and, as such, everyone should get the same opportunity.

In reality, we know that isn't true. We all have unique skills and talents.

Wouldn't it be better if we treated everyone fairly? 

If you were treated fairly, you would be put in a position where you could be successful based on your unique gifts and talents. 

Treating you equally might put you in a position where you were set up to fail.

I'll use a basketball analogy to illustrate this point.

If I had four good shooters on my team and one player who was great at handling and distributing the basketball, treating everyone equally would mean everyone should roughly get the same number of shots each game.

If I told the four shooters they could shoot the basketball any time they had an open shot and requested the other player to not shoot but distribute the ball to their open teammates, that would be treating everyone fairly.

Maybe we should be more concerned with treating others fairly instead of treating them equally.

As Gino Auriemma, the head basketball coach of the University of Connecticut Lady Huskies tells his team, "I'll treat you all fairly, but I won't treat you equally."

Leave me a comment about your thoughts on treating people equally or fairly.