Making Hard Decisions is Meant to Be Hard
With crazy economic times and challenges in major parts of our nonprofit sectors, healthcare and higher education in particular, there feels like an increase in the really “hard” decisions for leadership. Whether it's making determinations on reductions in force, cutting budgets, demanding increased efficiency from already overworked employees, or many other aspects, I spend more and more time with leaders working through hard decisions.
What I find interesting is when someone says to me “It's hard to make this decision.” Hard decisions by definition are hard. And the more challenging the environment, the more likely there are to be “hard” decisions.
The first hard decision I ran across very early in my career was to let someone go from their employment. I was racked with guilt and trepidation the night before I knew I had to do this. As a first-year professional, just out of law school, this was the first time I was going to have to affect someone's life in a major way. I did what many young professionals do. I called my parents.
My father, who owned his own company, listened to the scenario and my angst. And what he said next surprised me. He told me that he was glad that I was bothered by the situation. That was an indication to him that he and mom had raised a good person. It shouldn't be easy. It should hurt a little bit because you actually care. That's the sign of the type of son they wanted in life.
However, he also told me that I'm getting paid to make these decisions and that if I don't, they'll find someone else who will. Be honest, be straight, keep it short, and do your best to remember the other person's position without deviating from the necessary path. That next day, I did what I had to do while at the same time feeling lousy about it throughout.
Dad's commentary has stood with me for a quarter of a century of my professional life. Hard decisions, when they affect other people, should hurt a little bit. They shouldn't be easy. At least if you have a conscience. But that's what leaders get paid to do. If we can't execute hard decisions, no matter how challenging, political, or unpopular, organizations will find other people to do exactly what a leader should have done in the first place.
Dad was right. With every hard decision I've ever made and then articulated I always try to ensure I kept other people in mind while not deviating from the direction or decision that needed to be made. Not sure it made it easier, but it helped me get through many difficult decisions.
