Sachin H. Jain, President and CEO, Board Director at SCAN Health Plan, shared on LinkedIn:
“One of the worst leadership mentalities I’ve seen in my career is what I call ‘split the baby‘ leadership.
It’s what happens when leaders manage conflict through lazy compromise instead of principled decision-making.
It sounds like:
‘You two aren’t getting along – you’re both at fault. Figure it out.’
‘You have different solutions? Let’s compromise.’
That isn’t leadership. That’s avoidance.
‘Split the baby‘ thinking assumes every problem has a 50/50 answer.
Most don’t. Some are 100/0. Others are 90/10. Many are 70/30. But 50/50 is usually the wrong call.
Why do leaders do it?
Because it feels fair. Because it avoids taking sides. Because it minimizes discomfort. But leadership isn’t about appearing neutral.
It’s about:
- Taking a stand.
- Making hard calls.
- Being willing to disappoint someone.
- Standing for what’s right, not what’s evenly divided.
- Splitting the baby isn’t wisdom.
It’s often cowardice dressed up as fairness. High-performing organizations don’t run on compromise. They run on clarity, conviction, and principled decisions.”
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