April 7, 2003 Closed-minded or Convinced

Not too long ago, someone asked me the following question, "When does taking a stand and being non-negotiable conflict with being domineering and closed-minded?" I found that to be a very intriguing question. How would you respond to it?

Of course we all know the answer. If you agree with the stand being taken, then the person is obviously not domineering or closed-minded!

Although said in jest, I have found there is a great deal of truth in it, especially when it involves large, complicated issues. Bush's position related to the war with Iraq serves as a clear example.

The decision to go to war is never an easy one to make and was certainly not in this case. Yet according to Gallup research, overall support for the war in Iraq and perceptions of how well it is going have remained stable, down only somewhat from the initial measures following the start of the war. The latest poll (late March) shows that 70% of Americans favor the war and 27% oppose it. And President Bush's job approval rating is still holding at 69%.

Still, there are many who continue to point out just how wrong this decision to go to war has been. Listening to them, one could conclude they think the President is completely closed-minded to any option other than war. And in this case, some of those critics are in rather visible, influential positions, including the United States Congress. Are they correct?

Richard Nixon once remarked about the incessant rumblings from the protesters of the Vietnam conflict. He said, "Nobody can know what it means for a President to be sitting in that White House working late at night and to have hundreds of thousands of demonstrators charging through the streets. Not even earplugs could block the noise."

Can you imagine what that must feel like?

The point is that whenever you make a tough decision, you will always have people opposing you. And sometimes they will be very noisy, as they continually work to build opinions against you and break your confidence in your own course of action. And as you might expect, the more far-reaching or controversial the decision, the more opposition you will face.

By definition, leadership requires decisions and subsequent actions on those decisions. In your leadership role, you must accept the fact that not everyone is going to support you. What you state as firm and non-negotiable, will often be seen by your critics as stubbornness or dictatorial. And depending on the nature of the circumstances, your opponents may seem almost hostile toward your course of action.

As a leader, you must be clear on the level of conviction you really have about the decisions you have made. You must be prepared to stay the course, especially when it becomes tough or unpopular to do so.

On the other hand, effectively leading requires you to listen and be open to differing viewpoints. If the factors that led you to a decision have become dramatically different, you will likely need to reassess your initial choice. We do not want leaders who switch gears every time a new opinion poll is published. Nor do we want those who are blind to real changes, and stay entrenched in a direction even when it is no longer sound.

The best of leaders tend to be grounded in a strong sense of internal values and beliefs, which they rely on deeply when making the really tough decisions. At the same time they work very hard to ensure their decisions are based on current realities instead of mere widely-held assumptions.

Isn't it amazing how different people can look at the same set of facts, and come to substantially different conclusions. Doesn't seem logical, but it is true! As human beings the way our internal black boxes process information can vary widely from person to person. From what I have read concerning the Iraq situation, there seems to be rather consistent agreement about the kind of individual Saddam Hussein is and what has occurred in his country during his reign. But agreement about what that means to the U.S. and how we should respond is entirely another matter.

And that is why you can always expect disagreement on the stands you take as a leader, even when your decisions seem so clearly obvious - at least to you. Will people expect you, as a leader, to have values or standards on which you will not compromise? Absolutely! Are you as clear as you can be on what those are and why they are non-negotiable? You had better be. And will people who see the world differently than you, still find you inflexible and label you a poor leader? Very likely! Welcome to the trials of leading.

Remember that leadership is not about constantly finding and embracing new values for the sake of pleasing more people. It is about remaining loyal to the ones you already profess. You will never win over everyone, and bartering values to achieve immediate agreement from your opponents will only erode the credibility you have with those who already support you.

Reflection Questions:

• What are a couple of values that you hold, on which you cannot compromise?

• What do you believe the difference is between being closed-minded and being convinced?