High Performance Leadership

  Patience. I didn't see the need to mature until I matured. You're probably leading some team members who have not yet figured that out. Patience. -- doug smith

Are you a patient person? At one time, I was not a patient person. I had things to do, places to go, people to see. If people were slowing me down, it got me upset. If people were taking too long to do what seemed like an easy task, it got me upset. The problem with having no patience is that you could spend a lot of time being upset. And what does that give you? I've been working on it. While leaders may benefit from some impatience (are you done yet?) they truly need patience to achieve their mission. The big goals, the vision, the mission - all that takes time and patience. Let the butterfly work its own way out of the cocoon. Let the plant grow. Let your team member learn how to do what they need to do (even when, not if, it takes longer than it would have taken you.) Patience takes practice. How do you practice? Every time you feel impatient, breathe and whisper to yourself "ah...this is a patience growing opportunity." Silly? Not as silly as living ...

Are you a patient person? Do you ever lose patience with people because they are disappointing you or missing your expectations? I get impatient sometimes. Why can't people do the simple thing I asked, quickly? Why do I have to wait in line? Why don't they understand what I just said? Then I realize that the things I am most impatient about (miscommunication, incomplete service, broken expectations) are sometimes the very things that I am weakest at myself. My impatience comes from my own inner mistakes. I seem to have the least patience with those parts of people that are most like my own. That's sobering to consider and also liberating. It teaches me where my own areas for development appear. It helps me to breathe a bit and become somewhat more patient. It's valuable feedback. Here's how to stay patient: take impatience as early feedback on your own performance (not someone else's). Then work on that. It also helps to breathe, and smile. What ...