Although I’ve never been much of a puzzle guy, I like solving problems.
Give me enough information, enough time to think, and a whiteboard (and someone else’s handwriting), and I genuinely enjoy working through complexity. I want to understand the variables, identify the risks, consider alternatives, and make the best decision possible.
Easier said than done.
One of the more frustrating lessons that leadership has taught me is that some problems cannot be solved. As Stanley famously says, “They are not problems to solve. They are tensions to manage.”
Sometimes there is no good option.
What I mean is that there are situations where every available choice carries a legitimate cost. On any given day in my seat that could look like:
- Keep the program and strain the budget.
- Cut the program and affect the people it serves.
- Give someone more time and accept the consequences of waiting.
- Act quickly and accept the consequences of moving without complete information.
- Say “yes” to one travel/speaking opportunity, knowing it means saying “no” to another.
Leadership books tend to be much cleaner than the daily flow of leadership.
In the books, the case study ends; the chapter provides principles; the author explains what the leader should have done and on and on. I’m not cynical. Shoot, I’ve written some of those books and read hundreds of them!
But, real life? On the ground?
Real life keeps moving.
There are people involved (oftentimes people you consider friends).
There are consequences you cannot fully predict (emotions, rumors, unmet expectations, etc.).
There is always one more piece of information you do not have.
Yet, eventually, someone has to decide.
I have encountered this reality repeatedly. I have made decisions where I knew exactly what I believed was right. Those are not necessarily easy decisions, but clarity certainly helps. The harder decisions are the ones where competing responsibilities are both legitimate.
In fact, much of the decision-making I do comes down to defeating false dichotomies. Stewardship is not in conflict with faith-filled generosity and big dreams. Accountability is not the enemy of grace. Organizations are people AND systems.
Those tensions cannot always be eliminated by finding a clever solution.
Sometimes leadership means choosing which cost you are willing to carry.
Solomon’s request in 1 Kings 3 has become increasingly meaningful to me in this regard.
God tells Solomon to ask for what He should give him. Solomon could have asked for long life, wealth, or victory over his enemies.
Instead, I think Solomon remembered what his father, King David, told him (see Proverbs 4) and he asks for “an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9, ESV).
Information can tell you what your options are. Data can help you anticipate the consequences. Policies can establish boundaries. Experience can help you recognize patterns.
Nevertheless, leaders often encounter situations where none of those things can make the decision for them.
If you are a leader, you must exercise judgment. You need wisdom.
That can be uncomfortable for people who would prefer to research their way into certainty.
Another report, one more conversation, or another spreadsheet won’t save you from the reality of making the call.
Over-analysis can easily become a way of avoiding responsibility.
I’ve had to learn that making a decision with incomplete information is not necessarily reckless. It is part of leadership.
The key is knowing what should anchor the decision when certainty isn’t available.
For me, that begins with Scripture and prayer. It also means returning to the mission and values of Manna U. I always lead with the question, “Is it the right thing to do?” I never lead with “How much? What are the risks? What if blah blah blah.” If it’s the right thing, I seek counsel from people I trust, particularly people who see the situation differently than I do. Then I try to identify the likely consequences of each option and ask a difficult question:
What cost are we prepared to own?
Not hide.
Not explain away.
Own.
Every difficult decision leaves something behind.
Someone may disagree. An opportunity may disappear. Money may be lost. Relationships may change. A plan may need to die.
Far too often we want the decision that fixes everything. Sometimes it doesn’t exist.
We also have to be careful not to judge ourselves entirely by the outcome.
If things went well, we must have chosen correctly.
If things went poorly, we must have chosen incorrectly.
Life is rarely that simple.
A wise decision can still produce painful consequences.
A foolish decision can occasionally produce a favorable outcome, even if only temporary.
We are responsible for how we decide, not for controlling every variable that follows.
Some decisions don’t have a good option.
They still have to be made.
Choose wisely by asking God for what he promises: wisdom.
Dr. Carlo A. Serrano, President