In the novel Sophie’s Choice by William Styron, the author tells the story of a mother who must make the choice between saving one of her two children, a boy, and a girl, or letting them both be killed by Nazis. She takes the least worst option, choosing to save her son who she believes has the best chance of long-term survival.
Decisions, like the one Styron poses, are more complex than no-win or lose-lose situations. They require decision-makers to accept the negative choices available and to find the best choice among highly unattractive options. In cases where the only options are vastly unfavorable, leaders must find a way to act and decide even when the temptation is to look for another way out.
Accepting that the options available are all negative and there is no way to reframe or recast the situation to create a positive choice and outcome is a critical first step. This isn’t easy, especially for optimistic leaders who want to find the positive in the most negative situations. Just knowing that the task is to make the least worst decision creates the clarity leaders need to move forward objectively. Good leaders don’t deny this reality when it exists.
After acceptance, the next task for the decision-maker is to differentiate between the choices available. Applying values, preferred consequences, and long-term versus short-term thinking helps decision-makers to create a hierarchy of pain. The least worst option is usually the choice that produces the lowest pain in the longterm.
Of course, this evaluation is highly subjective and depends on how the leader believes the situation will play out over time. The unintended consequences associated with each option are never fully known, but the leader must make every effort to predict them.
In the end, a decision must be made. The goal of choosing the least worst option offers a frame from which to act rather than to become paralyzed by the distaste of having to select from a set of choices that are highly flawed or plagued by negative ramifications.
Even in the worst of situations, leaders bear the burden of having to decide. Great leaders are never defined by the easy decisions they make. It is with the hardest of calls that reveals to the world who leaders really are.
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