Be more patient at work.

Here’s a topic we don’t discuss enough (i.e. at all): being patient at work, and why it might be relevant — or even a value-add. ROI! KPIs! CAGR! Targets! Metrics!

Could being patient at work fit into those categories? Probably not. It’s not quite something you can easily track on a spreadsheet. But it’s a crucial work skill, especially in the managerial ranks. Let’s spend a little time extolling the virtues of patience at work, then discuss pathways to being patient on a more frequent basis. This article might clear 1,000 words — I’m good like that — so there’s going to be a degree of being patient you’ll need to exhibit if you choose to read this train wreck.

Being patient at work: The problems

Despite all these thought leaders giving speeches about “the future of work,” you gotta understand it from a place of reality. An average person — i.e. not a thought leader — tends to want these general things out of work:

• Good salary
• Some benefits
• Relevance
• The ability to display their competence to others
• A boss who isn’t a total wanker
• Someone who protects them from politics and scary stuff like automation