An 'uncertain' future in Baltimore

When I think about my adopted hometown of Baltimore, much comes to mind. Certainly, many good things: family outings to our wonderful city parks, the beautiful and nurturing Mt. Washington community in which we live, and the outstanding local parochial schools that our three children attend.

But for all the good that Baltimore’s mosaic of communities achieves, there is so much inexcusable failure that comes to mind, too: prevalent violent crime, economic blight, the likely hemorrhaging of marquee sporting events, a failing public school system and a deep-seated distrust between various populations within the city.

And, of course, the spectacle of seemingly never-ending political scandals.

Many of these problems have been a scourge on our city for decades and grow more intractable with the passage of time. While people of conscience and reason can – and often do – disagree as to the precise causes and solutions to these challenges, we can all agree that solving Baltimore’s existential threats requires the passionate engagement of our city’s citizenry and the full and undivided attention of our elected leaders. But neither is possible at present, and therein lies the true tragedy of our city’s failed leadership.

Scandal after scandal robs honest and hardworking Baltimoreans of their belief that their elected leaders have their best interests in mind. The rampant corruption saps their collective energy to engage in the political process and erodes their belief that a better future can be achieved. A disengaged citizenry not only makes a vibrant and renewed Baltimore less likely, it undermines the very foundations of our democratic society.

Further, and much to our collective detriment, the absence of stalwart political character distracts the government’s attention from solving the city’s pressing problems. It forces our leaders into defensive posturing, seeking merely “to keep the wheels on the bus,” rather than to fuel success through bold and innovative governing.

Rather than provide visionary leadership for her city, our elected mayor went into hiding, and then resigned; she is now under federal and state investigation. Rather than find ways to legislate a more economically attractive business environment or address the urgent social welfare needs of our city’s most vulnerable, our City Council is stuck contemplating charter amendments to forcibly remove mayors to come. All the while, Baltimore’s hopes for a bright future continue to shine a little less brightly.

In both business and civic enterprise, each of us — especially our leaders — has limited bandwidth. Great leadership is characterized by a fierce determination to stay focused on only the very most important issues. CEOs and management consultants alike often speak of the ability to stay uniformly focused on critical long-term issues as a primary differentiator between stellar leaders and those who are merely adequate.

Baltimore is a city rich in history, strong in grit, but desperate in its need for bold solutions. Even absent criminal conduct, our former mayor betrayed the public trust, she has furthered the perception that the citizenry exists to enrich its leaders, and she has turned our civic dialogue away from pursuing compelling solutions to our city’s greatest challenges.

If we look at our city with loving but dispassionate eyes, I think it is fair to say that Baltimore’s future is uncertain. Many of us are cheering our city on, but our citizens are disillusioned (just ask your next-door neighbor or coworker what they think of our city’s government). We need a government that can focus on tackling the pressing issues of the day, and, just possibly, allow for our city’s citizens to dream again of a brighter future.

Hershel D. Lutch (hershel@benderstrategies.com) is the COO of Bender Strategies LLC, where he implements change management solutions for a wide array of for- and not-for-profit clients.