Great leaders have an ability to expose options to difficult situations. They pull opportunities from team members, see things from different angles, and give important decisions the time needed for proper prayer and consideration. But what happens when all the options seem to stink? It’s the decisions that have no foreseeable “good” outcome without opposition that require leadership. Extreme cases have been found on the battlefields for centuries. A General may have two plans of attack, but both will surely cause death and mayhem and therefore both stink, but the decision must be made nonetheless.
Our day to day operations may not have life or death consequences, but sometimes all options can stink. So what then? There is a saying when faced with bad choices to choose the “lesser of two evils” meaning the one that is not as bad as the other should be chosen over the one that is the greater threat. I get the meaning, however choosing an “evil” should never be considered. There is always a “good” choice but that doesn’t mean it won’t have undesired consequences. A line I like in a movie once humorously acknowledged this and said “This is the best bad idea we have, sir. By far.” I can identify with that, sometimes you must choose the best bad idea you have. At the end of the day, do what’s right, do your best and God will do the rest. In tough times remember this, if every decision were easy, no leadership would be needed. Lead on…