Page 200 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

LEADERS KNOW WHEN TO COMPROMISE

politically dumb,’ and he said, ‘I’m going to do it because it’s the right
thing to do.’ And he did it in spite of the political risk and in spite of the
question as to whether or not we could put military people into the air
traffic control towers fast enough to maintain the system.”
Regardless of his cabinet’s misgivings, on the day of the walkout
President Reagan held a press conference in the White House Rose Garden
and issued an uncompromising statement to the controllers, along with an
ultimatum: You’re breaking the law—get back to work within forty-eight
hours or you’re fired. More than 11,000 striking workers called President
Reagan’s bluff, but he did not fold. The president terminated them and
barred them from ever working for the FAA again. Although the country’s
labor unions decried the firings, the majority of the American public
supported Reagan’s adamant stance and unwillingness to compromise when
it came to dealing with lawbreakers.
From President Reagan, McFarlane learned the value of standing firm
and refusing to compromise on an issue that critically affected the lives of
many Americans. A leader needs to learn when to stand firm and when to
practice the art of compromise. As former President Gerald Ford once said,
“Compromise is the oil that makes governments go.” Another White House
Fellow, attorney Nelson Diaz (WHF 77–78), learned that effective leaders
also have to be willing to be flexible if they’re going to get the job done. A
Fellow during the Carter administration, Diaz was only the second person
of Puerto Rican ancestry ever to work for the White House, and his
principal was Vice President Walter Mondale.
Diaz had worked as an activist on economic development issues for
the Latino and African-American communities in Philadelphia before his
Fellowship. He recalled that one day he and Mondale were flying to Los
Angeles on Air Force Two to plan a birthday party for President Jimmy
Carter when they heard a surprising announcement: The president had just
signed an arms sale agreement with Saudi Arabia. Mondale did not know
Carter was going to consent to such a deal, and he knew it would be
extremely unpopular with the Jewish community, of which Mondale was
a strong supporter. “The vice president had a choice to either turn the plane
around or to continue on the trip,” Diaz said. “He consulted with Chief
of Staff Hamilton Jordan, who was also on the plane, and we decided not
to plan the birthday party but rather to proceed to Los Angeles, which has
a large Jewish community. So the focus of the trip changed from a birthday

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