Patience is a virtue. This pearl of wisdom has been a bone in the throat of even the most patient leader. Patience is an easy thing to talk about, but it is extremely difficult to practice. Webster’s defines patience as, “the quality of being capable of bearing affliction calmly.” Patience is the third attribute Rudyard Kipling described in the poem ‘If-:’

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Most of us think of patience as a construct of time, but Kipling was addressing the broader definition – enduring difficulty and hardship while awaiting the appropriate opportunity to act. He is also referring to the patience required to bear the nagging and sniping that often accompanies a decision to wait.

Patience is a quality often lacking among today’s leaders. Society expects those in charge to take action quickly and decisively. True leaders recognize that patience enables them to take stock of the situation, to understand what is required, and wait while they build the capacity to take appropriate and effective action. Patience requires composure and character (as discussed in earlier blogs). Societal pressures for action may cause others to criticize and condemn a leader’s perceived inaction or lack of speed. People will first demand action. Then they will demand results. The greater the crisis, the greater the impatience.

By demonstrating patience, leaders reinforce the importance of focusing on the long-term outcomes. Patience doesn’t mean ignoring the interim milestones or short-term deliverable. It does mean keeping them in context.

Many tasks associated with leadership require patience (e.g., strategic planning, negotiations, people development, program management, etc.). The bigger the issue and the longer the planning horizon, the greater the patience required to remain committed. Strategic plans, for example, typically have a long-term time horizon and address big issues that affect an organization. It is easy for a leader to see the desired end-state and want to jump ahead without exercising the patience needed to succeed. Leadership means understanding that patience may require sacrificing short-term glory for long-term results.

Patience has contributed to many great leadership successes, and impatience has led to many failures. Benjamin Franklin’s failed negotiations with the British to avoid the American Revolution and his successful negotiation with France to support the war were both great tests of his patience. Both required years of hard work and sacrifice, but in the end, they were instrumental in American independence. Gandhi demonstrated extraordinary patience in working for a free and independent India. For more than thirty years, Gandhi worked, never varying from his commitment to non-violence. His patience resulted in a free India.

Many encouraged Franklin and Gandhi to give up or to compromise, but their patience enabled their success. Most of us think about the patience to wait months to build the capability to take action. Franklin and Gandhi recognized that they must work and wait for years before they could succeed.

Impatience is at the heart of the international financial crisis. Many attribute it to greed and regulatory failures. I would argue that the root of the problem was impatience on the part of investors, consumers, lenders, and regulators. Everyone wanted immediate results. Too many people lacked the patience required to create long-term value. This impatience led to disaster.

Practical Lessons:

While patience is an essential leadership attribute, it also demands skills more often associated with management. Our ability to lead patiently requires us to manage the situations in which we find ourselves.

1. Understand the situation and establish the facts. A patient leader understands the situation. How important is this problem? How urgent is its resolution? You must leverage your skills and the skills of others to gain an understanding of the situation you face.
2. Have the patience to create your plan. Patience requires us to know what we are going to do. Planning is a critical management function that enables leaders to build stakeholder confidence.
3. Build support and get the right backing. Any good program manager knows that the best way to relieve the pressure from impatient stakeholders is having a powerful and engaged sponsor. Enlisting and retaining the right support is a critical component to leading patiently.
4. Execute your plan on your schedule. Having the confidence to stick to your plan is challenging. Hold your ground when others attack you, and make sure you deliver on your commitments.
5. Be prepared to respond to the unexpected. Nothing ever goes as planned, and the sign of a good plan and great leader is the ability to respond effectively when things go awry. Unforeseen events are always a test of patience, and so we must have plans that enable us to respond.

Leaders often face challenges for which we are unprepared. Having the patience to respond deliberately may cause others to attack us. Leadership means enduring their attacks. To “wait and not be tired by waiting” can test even the most patient leader.