Ready, Fire, Aim
This is part one of a four-part series on Predictive Index (PI) drives.
Patience is defined by Predictive Index as the drive to have consistency and stability in your environment. While consistency and stability bring success in some situations, I would argue that’s not always the case. Sometimes a sense of urgency, the ability to multi-task, and outside pressure are critical to achieving the desired outcome.
Each of us is unique and possesses varying levels of patience. Some express high levels of the patience drive while others have a low expression of the patience drive. There is no right or wrong expression, or amount of, patience. Everyone has some drive for consistency and stability. Those who have a low expression of the patience drive must self-regulate, or adapt, in situations that may benefit from patience.
Those with a high patience expression must adapt to fast-paced situations, when multi-tasking and a sense of urgency are necessary for the optimal outcome.
Parenting requires an abundance of patience. As a mother of a three-month-old baby girl, I spent many hours bouncing a swaddled bundle gently up and down begging her to sleep. I hardly knew I had it in me to express such patience. But, I had to adapt and allow patience to trump my more dominant expression to drive onto the next thing. I was rewarded many minutes later when my baby fell asleep. No amount of urgency or multitasking was going to get her to sleep, but patience served me well.
By comparison, another parenting moment required less adaptation for me. On what felt like a typical Tuesday afternoon, I heard a strange noise over my shoulder. I turned and saw a man’s leg extended through a low window a few feet from where my baby was napping. While the intruder startled me, my ability to thrive under pressure served me and our family well that day. With one hand, I slammed the window down on the man’s leg until he retracted it. Once he was outside, I latched the window lock with one hand and called 911 with the other. On that day, I was ready, fire, aim and thanks to my low expression of patience, my family was safe.
Fast forward a few years, and I am a mother of two girls and a business owner. With the shelter in place order, I am also a second and fourth grade teacher, who would benefit from a high expression of patience. But since I have a low expression of patience, I have to deliberately check in and become more self-aware. Then, as appropriate, I can choose an adapted state that will result in a better outcome. While it fatigues me to no end to slow down and exhibit patience, I realize that the ability to self-regulate is critical to the success of our family.
How patient are you? I invite you to reflect on the degree of patience that comes naturally to you. By way of the following exercise, consider 1) your own natural tendencies as well as 2) the tendencies of someone who may be different than you. The goal of this exercise is to gain greater appreciation for your natural degree of patience and the ways in which it varies for others. Questions to consider:
In what way(s) does your unique and natural degree of patience (or lack thereof) add value? Are there times when your degree of patience, be it a lot (calm/unhurried) or a little (quick-paced/intense), becomes an obstacle? For example, you might consider this question in the context of change.
Part One:
1. Invest +/-10 minutes to gain a deeper appreciation of the manifestation of “Patience” in both yourself and a peer.
2. Look at your own PI Placard and make note of the location of your C Factor Patience
(drive for consistency and stability).
3. Do you have a lot of drive for consistency and stability (to the right of the midpoint)? Or do you have little/less drive for consistency and stability (to the left of the midpoint)?
4. Do you feel patience comes naturally to you (your superpower), or do you adapt (self-regulate) to be patient?
5. In what way(s) does your unique and natural degree of patience (or lack thereof) add value?
Part Two:
6. Look at the PI Placard of a colleagues. Or invite him/her to participate here if needed. Identify someone whose drive for Patience—the drive for consistency and stability—is noticeably different than (or opposite) yours.
7. The act of patience is incredibly useful and valuable. Can you think of personal scenario where a lack of patience or a sense of urgency in your natural—or adapted—state informed success?
Val Yaw, SHIFT CEO
