Leadership in the workplace: Learning to wait

Posted: October 19, 2011 - 12:57am  |  Updated: October 19, 2011 - 12:59am


It starts in our society from the first time a child gets his hands on a remote control and understands what it does. Young children constantly ask “are we there yet?” Teenagers must have immediate gratification. And, as adults, we want it now!

Good leaders, however, understand and practice patience because no one is born with patience or leadership skills. They have come to realize through hard work and training that patience can make the difference in the final result.

We can achieve a patience mindset by doing the following:

1. Take control of our emotions. There is nothing worse than a leader who shows a lot of emotion when faced with a stressful situation. Ranting and over-reacting shows a lack of leadership.

Sometimes, taking a deep breath will calm you enough to react in a positive way.

2. Be realistic in meeting your expectations. We all learned through our working careers that stuff happens. The sooner we accept that, the more accurately we can plan the tasks to be accomplished.

While it’s good to be optimistic, a good leader expects and plans for delays, complications and setbacks. Be happy if they don’t occur, but being prepared is always the way to go.

3. Setbacks are temporary. Leaders understand that people sometimes create an operational setback. Good leaders also know these problems are temporary. So make the necessary corrections and move on.

4. Practice problem solving. Leaders analyze a negative situation to discover their options. They are able to distinguish the things they can do versus the things they can’t change. Recognizing the difference, they work especially hard to keep their internal reactions positive and constructive.

5. Take your time. I had a rule that if the situation was not urgent, sleep on it. Bad decisions are often made through haste. Lack of knowledge about the decision you are about to make will have an adverse impact on your business and, more importantly, the people who rely on you.

Think it through.

6. Attentiveness. Good leaders pay attention to what is happening in their organization. Rather that asking, they observe what is going on. It takes patience to do this correctly.

7. Develop a thought process. As you mature and learn about leadership and life in general, you are exposed to different processes. You learn to think differently by experiencing these processes.

You will develop alternative ways to engage your brain to think through what should happen next. Employ the “who, what, where, why and how” thought process for better decisions.

By applying these to situations that are unknown or stressful, the process will slow you down and help you make a good decision.

8. Don’t become bitter. Getting angry is understandable, as long as it does not turn into bitterness. Bitterness is an anger that has not been resolved, and bitter people can never be patient.

They have short fuses, overreact and believe that even unrelated situations are caused by the person or event they resent. Always resolve conflicts promptly. Forgive, Forget and move on.

9. Remember successes. All leaders have found themselves in messy situations, and I can assure you there will be more down the road, but take heart. Remember that you have been there before and what you did to fix it. You found a way. Use it again.

10. Practice. Patience is not gained overnight. While many consider patience to be a virtue, for a leader it is the cornerstone of their leadership traits.

A “novice leader in training” can possess the many traits of true leaders: honesty, integrity, understanding, self-confidence, etc. The lack of not understanding the importance of patience and practicing it will impact on the ability to lead.

Isaac Newton said: “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”

Learning to wait will enable you to be the leader you want to be. Your business will profit from what you demonstrate and so will you!


Comments (1) Add comment
Hardheartedhannah'splayhouse 10/20/11 - 09:18 am

I must thank you for sharing your wisdom - it helped me a lot!

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