[May 5, 2017] Timely and accurate decisions are the linchpin to any good organization. But making decisions, especially hard decisions, is not always easy or popular; moral courage is required. A general officer and mentor of mine once said that senior leaders often have to choose between two terrible alternatives; it comes with the territory of a leader. Deferring hard decisions however will often bring about consequences just as bad and unpredictable, or worse, than if one of those terrible alternatives was chosen.
We see, for example, how the senior political leadership of the U.S. territory Puerto Rico has deferred any real effort to rein in government spending that has far outstripped its revenues. The reasons are complex but ultimately it was the failure of its government bodies to make hard, unpopular decisions that got them where they are now.
My grandmother reminded me on several occasions to never kick the can down the road. If you do, she said, “you’ll regret it.” Simple but clear message to all us grandkids. While we never really understood what she meant by regret it, we were crazy scared if we didn’t do exactly as she advised. Usually she made all the decisions but occasionally we had to. Once I had to admit to setting off firecrackers that resulted in a huge grass fire; a tough decision for me to fess up and take my punishment.
Whether it be the U.S. deferring hard decisions to fix its Social Security system, Venezuela realigning policies of their failed socialist government, or Europe coming to grips with their mass immigration influx, senior leaders must not put off until tomorrow those important decisions that must be made now. Problems on the horizon can be seen today, at least in most cases. Those must be dealt with sternly and with precision.
Puerto Rico is a good example of the failure of its senior political leaders to come to terms with their looming economic crisis. Everyone could see it but none had the moral courage – the political will – to do anything concrete to set it in the right direction economically. All their citizens will pay a heavy price for the weakness of their politicians. It is unfortunate that so many demanded short term gains over long term progress.
Leadership means taking people to a place that is better, convincing them it is for the best, and showing them how to get there. Anything else done by a leader is irrelevant and irresponsible. Of course, leadership involves challenges and sometimes making decisions that are unpopular. That is why a leader’s task is to show the way and be the first to step out and lead.
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