Leadership gets complicated

I sat in on a meeting today just to observe. There are some changes being made that do not directly affect me, but are important to the university. I went to show support and to listen. I watched to see what leadership lessons I could learn. Here is what I gathered.

1. Conflict/ change is always in a context. The leaders explained how the current conflict had been brewing for 40 years. "Incubating" was the word they used. We see just the current situation, but there is a long history that is involved. As a leader - I have to be aware of the historical context. Imagine the mistakes that we make with a short-sighted, snapshot leadership perspective.
2. Institutions/ Organizations have so many competing needs/ loyalties. Admin have the responsibility to attract students, raise funds and manage the whole entity. Faculty are committed to their students, to growing in their own knowledge and following the lead of their admin (whether they agree or not). Students are the core of a university - without them, there is no one to teach. CGU has been one of the most student-centered schools I have EVER encountered. So, decisions are made in an effort to balance the struggle of these goals.
3. When a decision is made for you as a leader, people carefully watch how you respond. You do have choices, even when you feel powerless. Being a part of a system means that you "follow the leader." Sometimes you are not the leader that calls the shots - what do you do? Do you fight? Do you submit? Do you make a new path? How do you speak? I always think in terms of A or B, but often, there is a C choice I never suspected.
4. Everyone calls for interdependence and sharing of resources, but some very real challenges surface when you actually live it out. It is like multiculturalism. Everyone loves the idea, but the day-to-day reality is so hard. Every relationship, every decision and every conflict makes us decide if we really believe that our goals are worth it. Will we keep at the relationship and work...to make it work? Or will we decide it is too hard and walk away?
5. As the leader, you need to be ready to explore every detail of the situation. The more full your own knowledge can be, the greater chance you have of answering the random questions of others. Instead of avoiding the areas of conflict, we calmly face them. As something to be studied and learned.