Patience & Humility: Why We Need Both to Be Great Leaders

I saw a T-shirt this week that said, "I am a very patient person… As long as I get my way immediately.” In our culture today, people are used to getting things right away. Some people say that we live in a microwave society. In other words, we have been programmed for immediacy. People don’t like to wait. I hear it all the time in the consulting world. I get questions like, “How quickly can we make this happen?” Or statements like, “I need this to happen as soon as next quarter.” Hardly anyone wants to take time to do it right, they just want to get it right away.

And it is becoming more commonly accepted in our society to shade the truth, sidestep, use qualifying words, narrowly defined meanings, or other devious methods to mask the true meaning of what is being said. We have become a culture that is more and more accepting of, or at least more tolerant and perhaps desensitized to deception than were past generation, it has become part of our norm. And one of the reasons for deception is to hide the truth of the matter; to make things happen quickly.

On Thanksgiving Day, my grandson asked me if he could say grace for our thanksgiving meal. I told him that it would be great. He gave the best prayer I could have imagined. It was amazing. When I complimented him, he became very talkative. He said, “You know Grampa, you haven’t seen any of my basketball games. I am really good.” I said, "I am not surprised." Then he said, "You missed my last football game when I caught the pass over my shoulders and ran it in for a touchdown.” At that point, my son said, “And he is humble too dad.” Then my grandson said, “What does that mean? That I am not patient?” And my son said, "That too!”

Patience and humility are more important than ever in today’s business world-not as a soft skill but as a strategic advantage. Modern business often rewards speed, but sustainable success still favors patience. I had a number of discussions about this with one organization that I worked with. They had three key leaders who were seemingly experts on side stepping, shading the truth, and other masking of truth. When I told them that it was a non-sustainable situation, they ignored me because the short-term results looked good on the metrics. Complex problems take time. Scaling products, building culture, earning trust, and navigating regulation cannot be rushed without a hidden cost.

Patience leads to better decisions under uncertainty. Patient leaders resist knee-jerk reactions to short-term metrics and market noise. And it has compounding effects like customer loyalty, brand recognition, and employee capability. Those three critical factors grow gradually, but powerfully, over time. Accepting deception and rushing decisions leads to chasing trends, burning out teams, and sacrificing durability for quick wins.

Leading in a knowledge driven economy requires humility. No leader can know everything anymore. Humility is essential because innovation is collective. Breakthroughs come from teams, not egos. The company I mentioned previously did not get this. And markets change fast. Humble leaders adapt faster because they are willing to admit when they are wrong. The leaders in the company that I referred to previously did not get this. You see, talent expects respect. High performers want leaders who listen, learn, and share credit. They also did not understand this—not surprising! Trust, as it turns out, is currency. Clients, employees, and partners trust leaders who show authenticity over arrogance. Without humility, leaders stop learning, turnover is high, talent leaves, and organizations stagnate.

Together, patience and humility create strong leadership because they reinforce each other. Patience allows leaders to listen deeply. Humility allows leaders to change course. Combined they create psychological safety, better judgement, and resilient cultures.

Many of today’s most respected companies and leaders succeed not because they move the fastest or speak the loudest, but because they think long term, learn continuously, build people not products and services.

In today's volatile, transparent, and talent-driven business environment, PATIENCE keeps you focused, and HUMILITY keeps you relevant. Together, they turn leadership from authority into influence, and influence into lasting success. The company referred to above is unraveling; talent is leaving, turnover is high, and customers are leaving. Hopefully, they figure out the critical leadership issues. I had a very nice discussion with my grandson. He really does understand patience and humility. It is just different when you are talking to your grampa!