Judge’s Dilemma

There are always those famous quotes or one-liners that dad or grandpa uses that you never really knew where they came from. One in particular that has stood out to me was the question about “what the judge had for breakfast.” This one in particular is talking about judges in a courtroom.

The idea behind this funny quote is speaking about how a judge may or may not be in a better mood based upon what they had for breakfast. A nice fruit cup and an omelet may result in softer sentences for criminals than say, a bowl of porridge (no judgement if you are into that). So, with this idea, if you were an individual on trial before a judge, your hope is that they had a hearty meal before sending an individual to jail or setting them free.

There actually was a study done on this (here). The study suggests that there is a lot of truth to this “wives’ tale.” Judges are more likely to give the most generous sentences after a lunch break, and specifically on Thursdays. You may have committed the same crime as your neighbor, but a Monday morning hearing may have an altogether different result than Thursday after a fish and chips lunch. Of course, very few judges are willing to admit to this. Per usual human instinct, it’s never our fault, always someone else who creates the problem.

As somebody who is in the Human Resource and Talent Acquisition space, I often am thinking about this idea. How many recruiters are in a different mood on a Monday morning phone screen rather than a Thursday after lunch with coworkers? Is there any truth that overlaps here? I think about performance reviews, specifically. If a HR generalist just was chewed out by their boss and then expected to review a candidate in a live interview or phone screen, I would suggest the same idea applies. They may, unfairly, be harsher on the candidate based upon their own mood, rather than the candidates potential fit with the organization. It may have nothing to do with race, gender, age, weight, but simply the current derivative of that person’s mood.

Take this a step further — how often am I, or challenge to the readers, in a meeting, talking with someone, on a call, etc. that is not appropriate for the current environment? Am I letting my mood bleed into my day-to-day decision making? Am I letting my mood bleed into big strategic decisions? As a leader if I am not able to compartmentalize my stress while an employee needs to be shown empathy, listening, presence, and more, how can I lead effectively? Next time you are angry, stressed, or upset about something, ask yourself if you are capable of dealing with the very next thing you need to deal with. Same applies with positive attributes. If you are in a happy, excited, encouraged mood, are you able to make a tough decision?

I don’t know the answer to all this, but what I do know is that if you need to chat, call me Thursday afternoon, not Monday morning.