FEATURE – Patience enhances leadership effectiveness by fostering respect, critical thinking, and collaboration, leading to better communication and decision-making, says the author.

Words: Carlos Frederico Pinto

Published originally DECEMBER 19, 2024 at saudebusiness.com

Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the USA and one of the greatest polymaths of our era, considered patience one of the great virtues of a person. In healthcare, and for leadership in general, a lack of patience can be a powerful saboteur of good communication, performance, and psychological safety, significantly impacting organizations.

Impatience can manifest itself through subtle, even imperceptible gestures that betray one’s sarcasm, dissatisfaction, and aggression—none of this is conducive to a healthy working environment. Impatient leaders rarely listen to dissenting ideas, often disregard the impact of their interventions, and consider feedback that does not corroborate their opinions to be futile.

As a leader, you can be assertive, firm and confident, without resorting to aggressive or impatient behaviors. That way, you can focus your efforts on developing relationships rooted in mutual respect, so that conflict becomes easier to identify and you can define sensible goals and targets. There is no room for unrealistic targets, sarcasm, anger, or resentment.

One efficient way to move toward assertive decision-making and improve communication without rushing is to rely on critical thinking techniques—which can also bring your leadership to the next level.

LEADING WITH CRITICAL THINKING

To adopt theses critical thinking techniques entails leading through questions and gathering relevant information from diverse viewpoints, while focusing on collecting real data and avoiding making decisions based on beliefs or assumptions. Real data only exists at the gemba—the patient’s bedside, the pharmacy counter, the nursing station, the operating room, and so on.

When conducting an analysis, therefore, you should always consider multiple perspectives for the problem and seek to identify the potential weak points of each possible decision. Clearly communicating your goals and decisions, explaining the reasoning that led to them, is of paramount importance; as is challenging your beliefs and preconceptions, seeking new ways of thinking and paradigms, and striving to see the problem through the eyes of others.

THE SURPRISING IMPACT OF PATIENCE

An example of a paradigm shift comes from a study by David Sluss, published in the Harvard Business Review in September 2020. Sluss studied 578 college-educated professionals in various fields—over half of them in leadership positions—asking respondents about their superior’s behavior and patience level, while also having them record their own level of creativity, productivity, and collaboration. The results were striking: when leaders demonstrate patience, their subordinates report 16% more creativity and collaboration and 13% more productivity.

Sluss also studied the impact of patience on two different leadership styles: specifically, task-oriented leaders (who are more focused and detail-oriented, whom he called “futurists”) and relationship-oriented leaders (usually more cooperative and open to dialogue, whom he called “facilitators”). He concluded that patience made both more effective:

• The futurist needs it to better explain the vision and detail metrics and performance expectations.

• The facilitator needs it for the group's collaborative process to develop more efficiently over time, while still being able to deliver strong performance.

SO, HOW TO DEVELOP PATIENCE?

Sluss suggested two basic ways to develop patience—a virtue not all of us are born with.

First, he encourages us to redefine when “speed” matters. The planning of strategy, for example, is something that takes time and demands great patience and reflection. However, when it's time to act, be swift and objective. He quotes the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” The Marines are famous for fast and successful operations, but paradoxically, they are methodical and exhaustive planners. Interventions lasting minutes can take months to plan. Secondly, Sluss suggests we practice gratitude more often, because this has a positive effect on several human conditions. Practicing gratitude increases generosity and reduces stress. Studies have shown it even helps individuals better manage their time and cope with frustration.

Whether you are a futurist, focused on results, or a facilitator, focused on relationships, exercising gratitude is an excellent way to become a little more patient and more assertive in your leadership role. And there is no better time of the year to practice gratitude than the Holidays. So, why don’t you give it try?

_THE AUTHOR