Moving from Impatient to Patient

I don’t give financial advice in these Leading Thoughts. If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that. Yet this past week I read a fine article on how prosperity comes to people through the stock market. I was so struck by the parallels between the advice in the article and tactics of great leadership that I want to recount some of this article here.

The article referred to the “bear trap.” By this the author meant that often, when they see the stock market declining, investors dump their stock and run for the hills. They shouldn’t, apparently. Why? Because drops in the stock market almost always come before a pretty amazing rise.

Corrections in the stock market are to be expected. They occur every 2.9 years. Overall (and this is the key) the stock market rises through the years. In fact, even when there are individual corrections, on average the market gets back to even within 116 days, or less than four months. To use Wall Street language, over the last 75 years, every bear market has been followed by a bull market.

Here’s an amazing fact from a JP Morgan study: 6 of the 10 best days in the market over the last 20 years occurred within two weeks of the 10 worst days.

All this is why Warren Buffett has famously said, “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”

So what does all this have to do with leadership? I believe that great leaders think the same way that people who prosper in the stock market do. Problems come. They are hard. But they are also needed corrections that do some good. Soon after, a new ascent is possible—usually because the bad prepared for the good, the problems for the success. So the wise leader is patient, understands the vicissitudes of human nature, and leads well through the darkest hours to earn the more sunlit days.

An example? You have to fire a team member. It is gut-wrenching. You sit up at night hurting over what you have to do. Yet it had to happen. People in your firm watch you do this with character and gain respect for you. You are able to bring in fresh energy and skills with your new hire. The firm prospers. Notice: Your hard hours, your dark night of the soul, allowed you to show character and grace which led to heightened leadership credit among your team members and an upgraded team through the new hire. The bad moments, wisely navigated, lead to good; the hard times lead to success.

Now, I want you to take a moment to encourage yourself by remembering gut-wrenching, difficult moments in your leadership life that ultimately led to marvelous upgrades for you and all you lead. Think of a couple of examples of this and let the pattern embed in your mind. Tough times. Wisely navigated. Improvements possible. Ultimate success. It is a universal pattern and I want you to see it in your own life.

A famous preacher once said, “Tough times never last. Tough people do.” This is the key to success in the stock market. It is also the key to great leadership. See what other people don’t. Lead accordingly. Be patient while others are pulling their hair out. Take everyone to a new level. This an art of brilliant leadership.