Patience
 

By Christopher McDonald
Sr. Vice President Loss Prevention
Compass Group, NAD
 

As a manager of others, it’s that time of year when we begin preparing for performance evaluations and getting our strategic plans in place for managing and developing the team’s performance plans and targets for another year. Along with the formal plans and review of the past year’s accomplishments also come the conversations with team members about wanting to do more. Questions like; “How can I get promoted?” “What do I need to do to get ahead?” “Why am I not moving up faster?” seem to surface around this time of year. To those ends, allow me to ask a question in return. How well have you learned to be patient?

I don’t mean being complacent or accepting the status quo, but truly learning the value that comes from being a patient person. Patience is a great skill that gives you the ability to understand more, know when to speak versus remaining silent, and when to push forward as well. It’s also not a skill that you can just pull out of your pocket. Rather it’s one that is best learned under the heat of fire when the stakes are high. As is often said, better to lose a battle and win the war. Losing never feels good, but can be one of life’s great professors to let us learn when patience would serve us well. You simply can’t substitute time, tenure, and experience when it comes to gaining patience. Have you lost and learned from it?

Secondly, patience teaches you the skill of thinking before you speak. My father always said that you should use your ears and mouth in their given ratio. Meaning you have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you speak. I’ve always found this to be great advice when I knew my patience was being tested. Too often we’re in such a hurry to make a point or contribution that we miss what others are telling us. The next time you are tempted to dive in on making a decision, take a deep breath and make sure you have listened to everyone around you. You’ll be armed with more information and likely to make much better decisions.

Finally, realize that you’re not in a race with anyone else but yourself. Often people make the mistake of attempting to be the ‘first’ at whatever they are working to accomplish. However, first is not always best. Letting someone else go ahead and ‘trip’ over landmines can help you pave a path with less injury and more success. I believe Edison said that he found thousands of ways ‘not’ to make a light bulb before he found the right way to make a light bulb.

And we’re not talking about a mere light bulb. We’re talking about your life, your career, and your future. Some skills simply cannot be substituted by life experiences that help teach us patience. So let’s look back; has your patience been heat tested and case hardened? Are you willing to ensure you have all the facts before making a decision? Edison’s light bulbs have been shining for well over 100 years. How long will your light shine? Be patient.