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LEADING BEYOND INTENTION
Obstacles That Get in the Way of Being Brave As we continue our leadership study, it is apparent that brave leadership is not easy; it requires leaders to overcome the often formidable obstacles that can get in the way. It’s about how leaders see obstacles. Do leaders see them as opportunities, or do they see them as reasons they cannot proceed? Talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey defines the way we suggest leaders approach obstacles: “When you meet obstacles with gratitude, your perception starts to shift, resistance loses its power, and grace finds a home within you” (as cited in Taylor, 2018). We will examine two obstacles that, in our experience, often get in the way of brave leadership—time and wanting to be liked.
In schools, and likely in most workplaces, it seems people are constantly rushing around trying to get things done. Most days feel like a whirlwind of decisions and interactions with students, staff, parents, and other leaders. This whirlwind often propels leaders to make decisions quickly, and sometimes leaders do not carefully consider quick decisions like when they take the time to think through a decision deliberately. We suggest you practice slowing things down a bit so you don’t get caught up in the whirlwind. Why slow things down? Slowing down creates time to consider your options and think through the best choice for your students and staff. When rushed for time, you might make a decision that resolves an issue quickly to check it off your list instead of the more courageous choice. We can think of many times when we got sucked into the whirlwind as leaders and regretted the message we inadvertently sent to our staff by making a decision not aligned with our school or district core values. As a district leader, Jeanne often faces decisions that need a quick answer or response. Early in her career, she would jump quickly to the response without thoroughly thinking through all options. Now, she makes a conscious decision to slow things down a bit (well, as much as possible) to use the team around her to consider options and run decisions through a pros-and-cons process, as well as a check to see that the decision options align with her district’s values and beliefs. Best-selling coauthors and brothers Chip and Dan Heath (2013) explore how to improve the quality of decisions in their book, Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work. One of the most significant decision-making mistakes they
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