Few valuable things in life come quickly. We are used to instant coffee and microwavable dinners, but the process of transforming ourselves in order to support the transformation of others doesn’t happen overnight. Leaders with a microwave mentality don’t have any real influence or power.
Let’s observe how patience is a fundamental element required to achieve an individualized consideration as a transformational leader and how we can improve our ability to practice patience.
Times have changed and nowadays we see kids being overly rewarded for every single little thing they do. I remember not long ago, my sister in law, sent me pictures of my nephew receiving a trophy, a medal, and a diploma in a ceremony that reminded me of my doctoral graduation. All the kids in that elementary school were receiving the awards while wearing gowns, tam, and tassels.
When I asked my sister-in-law what was the great achievement, she told me: Well, it is because they finished the school year! Don’t get me wrong; I know how important it is to recognize efforts at every step of the way, however, for a first-grade kid to have a quasi-doctoral graduation ceremony just because they did their homework and attended school, I find this to be a little out of proportion.
Are we sowing the microwave mentality into the new generations? We put something into the microwave and after a minute or two, it is ready to eat. This is training those with little patience to have even less patience and those that do have the patience to acquire nearly instant gratification.
Many leaders I know are highly competitive and tend to be impatient. They look, think and want to move ahead. That can be good, as being one step ahead is what makes you a leader, but it can also be a challenge; being twenty steps ahead could make you a willing victim ready to lose control.
Leaders need to remember that the point of leading is not to cross the finish line first or alone, but to take with your others and to support their transformation.
If you are running too far ahead of your people, you are losing the most powerful element that a transformational leader can have: influence.
How can we improve the habit to practice patience?
- Review your goals: Work on your short-term goals, but make sure you are reaching the long-term goals. If you are working only on short-term goals and not considering the long-term ones you are losing perspective on your vision and mission.
- Retrain your mentality: having the correct perception of the valuable things in life will help you understand that “Anything worth doing is worth doing right” (Hunter S. Thompson) and this will take time, but the end product is worth the wait.
- Trust the process: embrace faith and patience by trusting yourself and the process. Success won’t be achieved in a day, nor your purpose – which will last your entire life or the transformation needed in order to reach higher levels of achievement. Learn to enjoy every day and make every day a successful one.
Let’s remember that there is no leadership without transformation and there is no transformation without leadership. Practicing patience is a habit, as well as an amazing skill that we can learn and work on every day.
If you need help reviewing your goals, changing your mentality towards your goals, having a clear plan that incorporates short-term and long-term goals that help you trust the process and practice patience. LEADINFORCE can help you! Contact us to discuss how.
Question: How can we improve the habit to practice patience?