What Would it Take to Change Your Mind?
ACT member Larry Ferlazzo recently wrote a blog post that was picked up in The Answer Sheet at the Washington Post. He started off writing about the value of being “unprincipled” – a provocative idea, but in fact, it just means that absolute certainty can be a liability when dealing with complex issues and problems. To support his argument, Larry linked to a blog post titled “Strong Opinions, Weakly Held,” by one of my favorite writers, Bob Sutton. To sum up the advice, I’d put it this way; leaders should have strong opinions about the work they do and the direction in which they’re headed, and they must be willing to change those opinions when new evidence and stronger arguments come along.
We’ve seen what happens to politicians when they change their minds, unfortunately. Accusations of a flip-flop can be devastating. I have trouble believing that voters truly want leaders who would never change their minds, but for those who oppose the politician or candidate anyways, it’s an opportunity to go on the offensive. Once the attack begins, the media report the reactions much better than they do the background, or the subtle and ambivalent set of quiet reactions many of us might have. So, I don’t hold out much hope that, in the education debate, we’ll see Arne Duncan or Barack Obama own up to any weakly held opinions – although they absolutely should. They’ve come too far down the road of more tests, more standards, more accountability to hit the brakes now, or ask for directions.
