There are times when progress is just … S O   S L O W. It seems like I’m getting nowhere and wasting time.

Most of the time, that’s all in my head. The pressure is coming from wanting something Right Now.

But most things take some time to develop.

So how do I navigate this frustration? Well, it’s about changing my perspective, and giving myself grace for imperfection.

The new perspective comes from questions like:

  • What’s a normal rate of progress for others?
  • What’s really impacted if it’s not done right now?
  • Am I pressing my team too hard?

This last one is especially important for me, as I find that I can easily push others too hard when I’m in a leadership capacity. And each person, each team, each organization has its own preferred pace.

I can help that to move quicker, but only to a certain degree. At some point, I’m just breaking things and burning people out.

But it’s also about burning myself out. I have to find my OWN pace in each context, then work to improve that.

But I’ve learned that the most important progress is made slowly. Often imperceptibly. And I need to be patient with that.