Axios Solutions
When you think of a patient person, what comes to mind? Mister Rogers? Mother Teresa? Mahatma Ghandi? They were definitely champions for patience in a world where instant gratification constantly causes plenty of problems.
Patient people have learned to not be reactive in the middle of frustration, and that is certainly a part of patience.
But patience doesn’t just mean poise or silence in the face of conflict; it means so much more.
Problem-Solving Energy
The Judgment Index describes patience as “problem-solving energy.” In other words, how much patience a person has is actually how full one’s internal reserves are to spend time, mental energy, and emotional resources for solving problems.
This is probably a different way to think about patience than you’re accustomed too, but in the Judgment Index, this definition is helpful to understand you and your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Patience, or “problem-solving energy” is a part of what the Judgment Index measures, and it is an especially important part of engagement.
Professionals who score high in the patience category are more willing and able to take time in decision making. Contemplation is a big part of their world and life; they take time to consider the implications of a decision or solution to any given problem.
To an impatient person, this kind of slow contemplation feels much like wasted time. But to one with a stockpile of problem-solving energy, it’s a way to get more clarity, and a necessary ingredient to solid decision-making.
A Virtue and a Choice
The Judgment Index engagement report says the ancient sages understood a virtue to be a matter of personal excellence. A virtue is not something humans are naturally born with, but it is chosen and developed. Patience is one of those things. We are not born as patient beings (just asked whoever raised you as an infant!), but is something we must actively choose to pursue and cultivate.
And that’s not easy, because the world we live in is constantly pushing and preaching the need and desire for instant gratification. The easy decision is valued because it is often the fastest decision. But that doesn’t make it the right decision or the best decision.
Patience requires a rejection of the cultural norm of fast and easy; patience requires waiting and a tolerance for discussion, contemplation, and circumspection. It requires the mental and emotional capacity to wade through the information and take the time needed to make the best decision.
Problem-solving energy is the result of a person who has cultivated and developed this kind of patience and decision-making process.
The Judgment Index helps you and your employees understand how you may need to develop more problem-solving energy in order for your team to have a beautiful day in the neighborhood today and everyday.
Connect to Learn more
Connect with Bart Justice, a certified JI associate, to find out more about building your team’s problem-solving energy. Fill out the form below to find out more or connect with Axios Solutions at info@bartjustice.com.