Teams notice favouritism long before leaders do, and it isn't always because of promotions, pay rises or bonuses. More often, it's revealed through a series of small but repeated decisions.

Who gets recognised. Who gets allocated the high profile projects. Who is invited into discussions before the meeting. Who regularly attends social events, dinners or corporate hospitality. Whose mistakes are overlooked. Whose performance is judged differently.

Individually, each example can usually be explained away. Collectively, they form a pattern that teams often spot long before leaders recognise they are creating it. What feels like a series of isolated decisions to a leadership team can feel like preferential treatment to everyone else. Over time, people stop listening to what leaders say about fairness and start paying attention to what they observe.

Favouritism is rarely invisible, but is usually reinforced.