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A Skill Leaders Must Learn
By Dr. Paul L. Gerhardt, PhD
In any company, be it old or new, the saying remains unchanged: the people of the firm are the leader’s greatest asset. Without the employees, a leader has no firm to run. To keep these valuable workers happy and content in their jobs, it is essential that a leader learn the art of patience. Getting mad over deadlines and pressurizing workers till they reach their breaking point is one of the biggest mistakes that any leader in our age can make. In today’s article we are discussing patience, more specifically why a leader should swiftly learn it.
Patience is the key to increasing productivity
It’s all very well to be the kind of leader that an employee never wants to cross. But, over exerting a worker by giving them a month’s work to do in a single night, will in no way benefit the company at all. On the other hand, the poor person may just collapse from exhaustion and leave the institute for good. Set a realistic deadline for tasks. Let the employee’s work within that time, however they wish. Don’t ask them every second of the day about their progress - that just kills the whole point of the deadline. The employee will deliver within the time frame, and if in case they don’t, then a leader may take the necessary actions.
Patience is the basis of starting a company
Mega startups, be it Amazon, Google, Alibaba or any of the countless other multinational enterprises did not form overnight. They started from the dorm of a college, the basement of an apartment, and even on the streets. Your company will begin like a very small seedling which needs a lot of caring and responsibility to grow. Would you give up on the seedling just because it’s taking some time to grow into a tree? Of course not. The same applies to a new company. Stick with it. Learn from your mistakes. Have the patience to watch the small shop grow into something amazing.
Patience can help make the right decisions
The job of a leader is to make the big decisions: who to hire, who to fire, what to change, when to change it and a gazillion other things besides. Even though most decisions have to be made quickly, and in many cases instantaneously, a leader must understand the right time to make any single decision. An impatient person may decide to take a deal today, whereas they could have gotten the same thing at half the price tomorrow. Patience is the key to almost every situation in both the corporate world and in life.
Throughout history, some of the most respected leaders of our age achieved fame and success through showing patience. Thomas Edison, the inventor of our modern-day light bulb had to try (and failed) 1000 times before his invention worked. Jack Ma, mega-entrepreneur and founder of e-commerce site Alibaba tried time and time again to achieve success, and succeeded only after failing a hundred times before that. Patience is indeed the key to great leadership.
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Dr. Paul Gerhardt is a tenured professor of management. He is a diversity and leadership well-respected and trusted trainer who helps organizations get amazing returns on investment. Dr. Gerhardt is the author of several publications available on Amazon.com, including Diversity at Work, The Diversity King; Leadership Lucy and the new upcoming Leadership Handbook. Consider inviting Dr. Paul Gerhardt to do customized leadership or diversity training at your organization. Most organizations find that diversity and leadership training by the right trainer yields a significant instant return on investment. You can get your FREE COPY of the Leadership Handbook by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/LeadershipHandbook
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