Leadership is Hard

     Frontline aired a compelling public television documentary last week of Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the Washington D.C. School District. The PBS camera crews followed Rhee through her three-year, unprecedented effort to overhaul a fledgling, if not anemic, school district.
     Rhee was given unparalleled authority by the Mayor and the City Council. She could do basically whatever she wanted to do. How did she use this authority? In short, she embarked on a crusade to increase standardized test scores and held principals, teachers, and administrators accountable for those test scores. More than one-third of all employees in the district were fired under her watch, and as you might imagine, she made more than a few enemies.
     By the end of her three years, angry mobs (in the hundreds) pleaded and campaigned for her ouster. She was eventually canned after a new mayor was elected and she had expended all of her political capital.
     The effectiveness of her work can and will be debated for years to come. Test scores indeed improved, but there is some indication that schools found a way to cheat the system and manufacture improved scores on standardized tests.
     What is most compelling and inspiring about Rhee is her commitment to the cause. Say what you will about her results, but Rhee laid it all on the line to make positive change. She was willing to be a three-year flash in the pan. She was willing to have people disagree with her, threaten her, and hate her guts. It is not far-fetched to say that she put her life on the line.
     Leadership -- true leadership -- is tough. Effective leaders are willing to lead others without counting the costs. Leaders are hurt emotionally and spiritually when others gripe and complain; they are humans like anyone else. Leaders grow frustrated when change does not happen the way that leaders want it to happen, but they are undeterred in their efforts to affect change.
     The old saying proves true, that the results are all in God's hands. We cannot control the results. The only thing we can ensure is that we are faithful to the cause that He has given us.