What makes a great elected official? A listener? A problem-solver? A researcher? A discerner? A leader.
He was an outstanding elected official. He listened to people and acted based on their input.
He was a terrible elected official. He made decisions based upon whichever way the wind blew.
She was a great elected official. She studied the issues, and her decisions reflected her best judgment based on all available information.
She was a horrible elected official. She never responded to the wishes of her constituents.
Last month I wrote a blog about why people get loud when arguing opinions and how it is ineffective for changing minds. I received some kind and gentle feedback that said, “but they just won’t listen to me.” What is more frustrating than not feeling “heard?”
My dad can’t hear very well, and it can be frustrating because he won’t wear his hearing aids. When I was a kid, I often asked my dad questions that were answered no. I know he heard me ask if we could get a Corvette instead of that Pontiac station wagon, but you didn’t see the Heim family tooling around in a Stingray. If I were asking the same question today, he wouldn’t hear me, and the result would be the same- no cool sports car.
Of course, the issues now are far more serious than a dumb fifth-grader wondering why a family of five could not substitute a two-passenger car for a family truckster. The distinction, though, is similar. Board members listen. They take phone calls, read emails. Maybe they even get letters in the mail? They get hit up while grocery shopping and at Tractor Supply. They listen to comments from the public at meetings. But they do not always do what we want. They must weigh multiple factors and solve complex problems in a time of unprecedented uncertainty.
Board members are elected officials, and we expect our elected officials to be leaders. Leaders are great listeners and communicators. Leaders are also learners who have a duty to learn about issues that come before them. Leaders must balance what competing groups want with research and data and use their best judgment to make decisions. Decisions that make everyone feel “listened to” are few and far between. When 50% of the people want X, and 50% want Y, 50% will say they were not “heard.”
Back in the day, when closing a school was the most controversial thing a school board could do, Jeff Larson was president of the Emporia Board of Education. I will never forget Jeff telling a crowd of angry parents, “We are going to listen to all of you. Then we are going to use our judgment to make a hard decision.” Several times that night, when I really wanted to go home and crawl under my bed, Jeff paused for a long time and then asked, “Does anyone else want to be heard?” And then he paused again until the seconds barely ticked by, like the last two minutes of class on a beautiful Spring Day.
The board closed the school, despite emotional and passionate testimony. It would be impossible to say the board didn’t listen. But the board made a decision the loudest group of people did not want. They listened, studied, and used their best judgment to make a difficult decision. Jeff has moved on to serve as a district court judge, where he continues to listen and make judgments.
So, what of the conundrums listed at the beginning? Can all four be true? It depends on where you are sitting. As the great philosopher Mick Jagger told us, “You can’t always get what you want…”. But with Micks’s screaming, Charlie’s banging, and Keith shredding, it would be hard to say they weren’t heard.
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