The Steady Leader: on Tactical Patience

I am still working on the final edits to my manuscript for my first book, The Steady Leader. This morning, I covered a section on the concept of retreating and the definition of tactical patience.

Tactical patience is the act of deliberately pausing and taking the time to fully understand a situation to set the team up for maximum success. You need time to ask yourself open-ended questions about the future. You need time to explore second and third order outcomes from decisions. You need time to assess and bolster the morale of your team. Tactical patience is the gift of time that you give to yourself to be thoughtful for the sake of your entire company.

Whenever you have the time to be thoughtful as a leader, you ought to force yourself to pause and take the time to be as thoughtful as possible. Believe me – I know all too well that decisiveness is one of those traits many people celebrate in leadership positions. And yes, there are indeed situations that require you to be prepared to act decisively. But the ability to exercise patience and take a tactical pause will be much more beneficial and more generally applicable to most scenarios in your leadership journey.

I should take a moment to disclose that I am very aware of my natural response to build a high sense of urgency in response to chaos or times of stress. The more chaotic my environment, the less I want to be patient, retreat, or take a tactical pause. I can certainly identify with some of those prior-military thought-leaders out in the world today who harp on the importance of “sucking it up and getting it done,” “never quit,” “doesn’t matter if you are injured, frustrated, or tired – stand up, keep going!” – and there is a component to that mentality that will help you be successful. But not every person is going to be able to respond to chaotic environments and situations in this way, every time. Some people, when pushed to act that way, feel unsafe, unmotivated, or scared, and those are actually not productive feelings that push them into action.

Imagine leading your people to the base of an enormous mountain and just pointing to the snow-capped, far-off jagged peak in the sky. “That’s the goal,” you say. “Get us there.” How are they going to feel? Now, some people are going to see that peak of the mountain up beyond the clouds and feel so motivated by the shear adversity they know they are going to have to overcome to get to that rewarding feeling of achievement once they reach that peak, they will step off with you ready to tackle it, no questions asked. Others are going to look at all of the ground they are going to have to cross to reach that peak, and they are going to feel overwhelmed by fear.  These people need something laid out clearly between them at the base and the peak to get them to tackle that climb. They need a plan. They need you to lead them to the base of this same monstrous mountain, but instead of pointing at the peak, you direct their attention to a warming hut a few miles away, with smoke coming out of its chimney, about 20% up the mountain. “That’s our goal today folks,” you say. “Let’s get there.” That 20% goal makes them feel much safer – it is more doable – and they are inevitably going to be able to muster enough motivation to reach that first day goal.

As a leader, consider which approach is more motivating for your team at large. Which will be more productive? Do you want to be the leader who just points to the very end goal and shout, “follow me!” Or do you want to be the thoughtful leader who takes a tactical pause, who has the patience to understand and acknowledge the dynamics of the entire team? Progress is meant to be motivating. You’re getting better, together; one step at a time! That should be exciting. But for this to be motivating, you have to present the vision and goal in a simple, clear way. You have to understand that progress is a plan and your people need this plan broken down into bite-sized chunks. While you need to be very clear about the direction you’re going, you can’t be so dogged that everything and everyone else suffers as a result.

I am willing to bet your team will always appreciate you taking the full objective and breaking it down into bite size chunks with a clear plan to step off toward that first mile-marker of achievement. A team led in this manner will be motivated and will follow you with vigor. They will give you all they have because they feel safe, cared for, and they believe in your plan.

Remember: the word retreat is not a negative word. It is rather a tactical thing you can deploy in your day-to-day operations to achieve a tactical advantage. Tactical patience is a quality much more useable than the urgent and push-without-boundaries type of mentality.

Taking care of your people doesn’t mean you push them to the brink of their demise. Don’t forget to take those pauses, show your people some love, and be intentionally thoughtful about plan execution.

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Written by Schuyler Williamson

REALTOR. Leader. Veteran. Business Owner. Investor.

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God Bless!

~ Schuyler Williamson