Power Play: The greatest power is patience

It might be one little word, but it can feel like one big goal.

Few of us are naturally patient. We tap our feet, twirl our pens, glare at the methodical people around us and generally get frustrated when things are slow.

Impatience will never be met with any good result. It will simply irritate the people around you and make matters much worse.

When we know people in our orbit are impatient with us, we are more likely to make mistakes, deliver inferior work and (generally) feel nervous and unsure.

Power Players practice a little bit of patience every day.

When someone is driving slowly or taking their time to exit an elevator, Power Players use it as a chance to observe human behaviour or even better, to take a breath.

Getting to their destination 10 seconds sooner isn’t going to make a lick of difference.

They also know that people respect patient people and that they are more likely to change their own behaviour as a consequence.