‘Patience Grasshopper:’ The Power of Patience and Team Trust
“Patience, grasshopper,” as the famous quote from the 1970s TV series Kung Fu goes. My dad used to quote this to me as a child, and to be frank, I hated it. Wait? Me? Why? I always felt I was ready and able. And yet, time and time again, my patience was tested. Head, wall, bang! When it took my family forever to get ready for a family vacation. Patience, grasshopper.
When the college acceptance letters seemed to never arrive in the mail (this was 2001 — they were still being snail-mailed, people!). Patience, grasshopper.
When I wanted to take the next step at my job, and despite me beating my sales goals, going above and beyond for the company, and asking for the next step, I sat there idling. Patience, grasshopper.
Or when I wanted my company to be in 20 markets when we had only just grown to 10. I wanted more people, more clients, more reports, and now! Patience, grasshopper.
Finally, I reached a moment in my life where I was ready to hear the message that was smacking me in the face for decades: While you may plan and be ready for the next step, the universe might not be ready to give it to you.
Finding the right pace
Why is this important for leaders? Well, it is our job to want more. It is up to us to see the future and bring our teams there. But, when you live in the future, when you can see all the steps to get to that moment of success, it can be incredibly frustrating when our team doesn’t follow or doesn’t follow in the way or at the pace that we would have expected. Sometimes we push too hard in these moments and therefore push people away. Sometimes we get visibly angry and upset, which is the opposite of what our team needs us to be: rational and calm. And sometimes we don’t give someone the chance, when in reality, they were the right person for the job, but they needed to do it on their time.
Getting this message was hard for me at first. I have absolutely pushed the right people away, focusing too much on my expectations and my goals, without taking into account the most important lesson of all: I am only as strong as my team, and I cannot do this alone.
So, while I am very much still a work in progress, I no longer roll my eyes when I hear my dad’s voice in my ear: “Patience grasshopper.” I take a breath, regroup, and focus on my team members and our brilliant work together, knowing that the universe wants us all to have the most success in the world.
It just might not be in the timing I set.
