I think one thing often overlooked in the world of leadership is patience.
We’re always in a hurry to get things done. We have to produce results immediately. Yesterday, if at all possible.
To make that happen, some leaders reduce themselves to the idea of “the louder and harsher the better.”
Kind of in the same way that someone traveling in a foreign land might try to make himself better understood by speaking louder and louder.
But not all things work that way. Some things, like learning a language, take time. They take patience. They take steady application.
Water will wear away the rock. But it won’t happen today.
Patience and persistence. Water will wear away the rock. It just takes time. Click To Tweet
The chicken will hatch, but only if you incubate the egg. It needs the right environment.
Can you imagine a leader shouting at an egg in an effort to get it to hatch more quickly? The louder he shouts, the more evident it is that he doesn’t understand.
The faster we lose respect.
You can't make an egg hatch faster by shouting at it. Click To Tweet
As often as not, good leadership is like an incubator. If you provide the right environment, consistently over time, you can bring amazing things to life, like great teams and new leaders.
If doing that is your goal, set an environment that presents a clear vision, reinforces cornerstone values, and rewards positive effort, then have the leader patience to wait.
The Leadership Incubator will work its magic.
On the other hand, if you’re just looking for an omelet, well, that’s an entirely different thing.
Lead on!
