The first rule of good management is fundamental fairness. This is the management golden rule: Treat employees the way you want to be treated. This requires an attitude of openness and a keen sensitivity to know when you are approaching the point of no return in crossing the line.
 

Fundamental fairness means achieving a workable balance between opposing behaviors, such as in the following 10:

1. Giving vs. Taking. Managers who constantly take in the way of mandating new rules and procedures and making isolated decisions, without considering employee input and concerns, will lose support when they may need it most. The manager who gives a little to employees, especially, especially when the issue is important to both, will gain tremendous respect and support.

2. Autocracy vs. Democracy. Every good manager knows when it is time to lead and act, and when it is time to listen before taking action. Management gets to chose the "what" of the direction, leaving the "how" of getting there to employees. Management has the foresight and vision to establish the mission, primary goals and values, but allowing employees to use their creativity and abilities to figure out how to get things done is what empowerment is all about.

3. Autonomy vs. supervision. Arriving at a smart balance is not an easy task. The effective manager will take the time to know the competency and motivational level of each new employees, to apply the right amount of instruction and motivation to get maximum productivity. Of course, taking the time to clarify expectations for performance and outcomes will always have big payoffs. Another fundamental fairness rule here is to never delegate responsibility without assigning authority with it.

4. Change vs. stability. Most employees fear and resist change, preferring familiar routine, and stability. Change can be scary and disruptive.

But sometimes change is absolutely necessary to make real progress.  An effective manager will learn how to orchestrate and facilitate changes  that can  help the organization and win support from employees. The tricks in knowing what routines to preserve -- ones that won't inhibit productive change -- so that isn't counterproductive.
 

5. Aloofness vs. Approachability. Management positions tend to foster aloofness as a serf-preservation defense. Self-sharing may even be seen as a weakness. But, when this aloofness keeps employees from approaching managers with genuine concerns and issues, this self-defense crosses the line of fairness. A good rule of thumb is to preserve aloofness for private and social matters. Be approachable in professional and business matters, By being approachable, you learn things  you need to know to be an effective manager.

6. Idealism vs. Realism. An effective manager will learn when ideal standards are not achievable and when more "realistic" results  are just a copout. Most employees want to achieve the best results in what they are doing and even want to be held accountable for achieving those results. However, as they approach the threshold of doubting their ability to achieve what may be expected, they tend to get very resistant. The wise manager has to be constantly guiding and gently pushing employees to achieve more than they think they can. This idealistic flavor, tempered by realism, is the way the universe operates -- and being in sync with that process can never be wrong.

7. Talking vs. Listening. Managers tend to do most of the talking and have employees do most of the listening. But careful listening always gives you an edge on saying the right thing.

Careful listening can alert you to important perturbation points, where small but well-placed and well-timed comments can have a major impact on what employees hear and do. Moreover, when you don't say much, people tend to listen very carefully to what you say when you do talk.

8. Simplicity vs. Complexity. Every effective manager has evolved through the cycle of starting out doing things the most simple way possible and then getting things so complex, nobody understands

anything, only to realize the necessity of simplifying them again.  Simple things scare managers, are no real shortcuts and that there is always a bigger picture to attend to; things can never be simple enough for employees. The goal is to identify and sell simplicity just on the other side of complexity. That point is difficult to get to, but once there, it is one of those things everyone can agree upon. A balance between thinking and acting can be a good way to get to this place.

9. Organization vs. Individual. Traditionally, the good of the group is always more important than the welfare of individuals. This is a very difficult position because it interrupts two human drives: To be treated fairly in line with the rest of the group, but to be seen as unique. Trying to understand individual concerns is a good practice, even if you know beforehand you cannot honor them because of more important priorities. So is explaining why you are unable to bend and accommodate them.

10. Thinking vs. Acting. Nothing is more unfair to employees than a manager who will not take action on reasonable requests. There is a built-in fear that once a decision is made and a precedent set, nothing can ever be changed. Reality, however, is rarely consistent. In fact, inconsistency may be the only thing that is really consistent. A smart manager will soon sort out what needs to be consistent for fundamental fairness versus what just needs to be consistent for the sake of convenience.