Becoming a More Patient Leader

It’s not easy to cultivate patience as a leader. There is pressure to perform and demonstrate competence in every industry, all the time. But when times are uncertain, it is critical for leaders to step up and lead by example. Stressed out leaders do not inspire good work. Uncertainty and high tempers can create an environment where people scramble to get work done just to please a raving boss. On the other hand, a patient leader understands the long-term value of building relationships with employees. Setting reasonable expectations is a good first step. But it’s essential to always show patience with employees and clients, no matter what the project timeline demands.

The long-term benefits of patience are valuable. Here’s how you can become a more patient leader.

Why Patience Is Important

At its core, patience is simply the opposite of rushing. Making good decisions requires slow and methodical conversations. If a client gets pushy about speeding through a deadline, a strong leader must be able to advocate for slow and steady decisions. Patience is not the absence of effort, even though it might give the appearance of apathy to uninformed onlookers. Instead, patience is all about the long-term outlook. Leaders must learn to value patience internally and communicate it externally to clients. Patience can make a big difference in the success of your business if you pursue slow and steady growth, rather than hectic and immediate growth.

Oftentimes, leaders are so results-oriented that they don’t fully understand the value of patience. In a business environment, this creates an atmosphere where people don’t bring up concerns or share any vulnerability. In the end, patience is important because it is intimately tied to tolerance for failure. All great leaders know that failure is a fundamental component of future success.

How to Build the Habit of Patience

There are plenty of daily opportunities to practice patience as a leader in your commercial appraisal business. The first and most important step is to change your mindset. A patient leader steps back to understand the experience of others. One concrete way to practice patience is to challenge yourself to count to thirty and listen to the perspective of the other person before responding. This way, you can build up your capacity for patience each day by not choosing sides and hearing everyone out. It sounds simple, but even a small commitment like this can grow into a lifelong habit of patience.

If you value learning from others, pick up some books on leadership and study other leaders who practice patience as a business strategy. Cultivate the confidence to resist the pressure cooker and stand up for a patient approach. You can grow your self-trust so you won’t feel pushed to jump to any hasty conclusions.

How Leaders Benefit from Patience

Leaders should nurture their businesses with patient leadership, but patience can also bring positive benefits to individual leaders. Firstly, patience facilitates an atmosphere of trust and open communication. When people feel comfortable sharing honest observations, they can overcome low-level problems faster. This frees up more time and energy to innovate new solutions, which can energize your work life. Plus, patient leadership can help retain top talent which is a value-add for any business.

Finally, patience makes you approachable. When you grow your capacity for difficult conversations and long-term growth, you become the type of leader that people admire. This can lead to additional opportunities to grow your career and connect with like-minded people. It could even lead to speaking gigs and publishing invitations.

If you want to enjoy your work again, try cultivating patience. It’s not easy due to cultural expectations around high-powered careers like commercial appraising. But leaning into a patient style of leadership can create big changes in your relationships with clients and your perspective on your career. Once you delight clients with accurate reporting tools with Valcre, you can seal the deal by setting them at ease with your patient leadership style.