By Mary Kay Scharf
Recently I thought about the many no-win decisions people make each day in positions of leadership. And then I thought about the “armchair quarterbacks” who often berate decision-makers when a decision conflicts with how they believe they would have acted. Decisions are slammed in the comments in the paper, ridiculed in coffee shop conversations, and are perpetuated in social media.
Positions of leadership often look glamorous from a distance which often places targets on the backs of these individuals. When you consider public leadership, the targets become bigger and more frequent. Some see public leaders and consider their roles to have privilege and power to be coveted. Often overlooked is the perpetual hot seat public leaders sit in each day due to the difficult decisions they face. The seats are particularly hot when decisions result in limited or “no-wins” for those involved.
The City of Bloomington has been discussing bulk waste removal seemingly for-ever. To make the decision to increase the fees of all citizens for this purpose is not popular with those who rarely use it and to go to user-based fees enrages those who use the service frequently. The city manager and the council will not find a win-win in this situation, despite the amount of thought, care, and concern they put into it.
In Normal, the decision to build a new library facility has been met with emotional questions about why a new library is even needed, where users will park of course, and how patrons will access the new facility and safely cross the high speed rail tracks, by overpass or underpass! Decisions related to this project will continue to elicit emotional response, despite the amount of research and care with which they are made.
School superintendents are awake most of the night during winter storms. Before a decision is made to stay open or close the schools, they consult with the National Weather Service through a middle of the night conference call, they are in direct contact with public works about road conditions, and they drive the streets or roads of their school districts, and yet…are accused of thoughtless decision-making. When school is closed, parents and employers complain that a little snow didn’t hurt them when they were in school and school is where children belong. When school is open, parents complain that the decision is careless and somehow connected to money…clearly there is no decision in this situation that will please all people.
While being in a position of leadership is typically a choice, it is often a lonely place when difficult decisions must be made.
I encourage you to consider the hundreds of decisions leaders make each day and then consider how YOU respond to those with which you do not agree.
Mary Kay Scharf is the Director of Principal Leadership in the Bloomington Public Schools. A Clinton native, she was a teacher for 7 years and has been a principal and school administrator for the past 26 years. She is a volunteer for multiple community organizations, most passionately for the Not In Our Town initiative. The proud mother of 3 and grandmother of one, Mary Kay lives in Normal with her husband, Jamie.
The opinions expressed within WJBC’s Forum are solely those of the Forum’s author, and are not necessarily those of WJBC or Cumulus Media, Inc.
