I spend most of my day sitting; at work, behind a laptop, or at my podcasting desk.
Even my so-called “creative time” usually means more sitting, writing, or editing.
To balance it out, I try to move. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu helps. So does helping my wife at our allotment, though helping might be a generous word sometimes.
That small patch of soil has taught me more about patience and process than most leadership books ever did. We used to spend hours there, planting, weeding, and chasing the kids around. Then life got busy, kids, work, everything, and the allotment went quiet for a few years.
Recently, we went back to get it ready for winter, planning to bring it back to life in spring. And while digging and pulling out stubborn weeds, I realised how much farming has in common with leadership.
Hence today’s reflection: what leaders can learn from farmers and what patient leadership is all about.
What is patient leadership?
Patient leadership treats progress like cultivation, not extraction. The leader’s role is to create the right conditions: clarity of goals and roles, capacity in time and tools, and context in priorities, then remove recurring blockers and protect focus. Instead of urgency theatre or premature judgement, it favours small, observable improvements on a steady cycle: plan, grow, harvest, rest.
Short definition and core principles
Patient leadership is a disciplined approach to enabling growth where environment and cadence matter more than pressure. Core principles: set conditions before pushing for speed; use a predictable review window (4–6 weeks) and track a simple blocker count weekly; support with boundaries (single priority list, capped meeting time); match strengths to roles and timing; and adapt plans to seasons, stabilise in hard periods, expand in good ones.
🌱 Set the conditions — environment over pressure
Diagnose conditions (clarity, capacity, context)
Don’t shout at the crops. No farmer ever stood in the field yelling at the carrots to hurry up. Growth doesn’t work that way. The same goes for teams. Pressure might get short-term results, but it rarely builds trust or creativity. Growth takes time, consistency, and a calm kind of belief.
Remove blockers (“weeds”)
Don’t blame the crop for growing slowly. When things aren’t going to plan, it’s easy to point fingers. But crops don’t decide how fast to grow, they respond to their environment. As leaders, our job is to look at the conditions. Are we giving people what they need to thrive? Or are we unknowingly creating stress that stunts their growth?
🌿 Nurture potential: right role, right timing
Match strengths to roles
Don’t uproot too soon. Patience is underrated. Pulling a plant out of the ground too early doesn’t help it grow, it kills it. The same happens when we give up on people before they’ve had a fair chance to develop. Growth takes nurturing, even when it’s invisible for a while.
Avoid uprooting early (review cadence)
Plant the right seeds in the right soil. A smart farmer doesn’t plant tomatoes in the shade. They match the crop to the soil. Great leaders do the same, they look at people’s strengths and find roles that let those strengths shine. When the match is right, growth feels natural.
💧 Provide support: water, nutrients, feedback
Feedback loops and learning resources
Irrigate and fertilise. Crops don’t grow on enthusiasm alone. They need water, nutrients, and care. Teams are the same. Support, feedback, and learning opportunities are the nourishment that keep people growing. If you want a good harvest, invest in your people.
Boundaries and priorities
Remove the weeds. Every garden has weeds. Sometimes they’re obvious: conflict, negativity, gossip. Sometimes they’re subtle: unclear priorities, lack of boundaries, too many “urgent” tasks. Whatever form they take, they drain energy from the good stuff. Good leaders weed regularly.
☀️ Plan by seasons: cycles that build resilience
Plan, grow, harvest, rest
Good seasons, bad seasons: they all pass. Farmers know some years bring abundance, others bring frost. They can’t control the weather, but they can prepare for it. Patient Leadership is the same. Not every project will bloom. Some will wither. The key is to stay steady, keep perspective, and remember: the season always changes.
How to respond in a “bad season”
The best leaders, like good farmers, know that growth isn’t a straight line. It’s cycles of effort, learning, resting, and starting again. That’s what builds resilience.
🧰 Leadership gardening kit: 8 coaching questions
Farmers don’t force growth, they create the right conditions for it.
Leaders can do the same, not by giving all the answers, but by asking better questions.
Here are a few you can keep in your “leadership gardening kit” to help your people grow:
- “What do you think are the best next steps to move this forward?”
→ Like checking how the soil feels, this helps you see if your team feels ownership of the process. - “How do you feel about your progress so far?”
→ A bit like inspecting the early shoots, it tells you how confident they are about their growth. - “What challenges or concerns are holding you back?”
→ Every garden has weeds. This question helps you spot them before they spread. - “What resources or support would help you feel more confident?”
→ Think of this as adding fertiliser or watering the roots. Growth needs nourishment. - “Can you share your thoughts on how we could make this goal more engaging for you?”
→ When crops aren’t thriving, change the conditions. Sometimes all someone needs is a bit more sun. - “How can I help you be successful in this task?”
→ Simple, powerful, and supportive, it shows you’re there with the watering can, not the whip. - “What have you learned from past successes that could help here?”
→ Remind them of their strong roots. Growth builds on what’s already working. - “Would you like to test some ideas with me before moving forward?”
→ A gentle way to prune together, shaping ideas so they grow stronger.
None of these questions are magic seeds. But used regularly, they keep the soil healthy, the roots deep, and the team thriving. That’s what patient leadership is all about.
Q&A Patience Leadership
- Q: What is patient leadership? A: A leadership style that prioritises steady progress and conditions for growth over pressure and speed. It focuses on environment, timing, and support cycles.
- Q: How do I diagnose if my team has the right conditions to grow? A: Check clarity (goals/roles), capacity (time/tools), and context (priorities/constraints). If any are missing, fix them before pushing for speed.
- Q: What are practical ways to “remove weeds” at work? A: Eliminate recurring blockers like unclear priorities, meeting overload, and hidden work. Agree on a single weekly priority list and time‑box interrupts.
- Q: How can I nurture potential without “uprooting too soon”? A: Set a review cadence (e.g., 4–6 weeks) before judging progress, pair people with strengths‑aligned tasks, and provide a safe space to practice.
- Q: What should I do in a bad season? A: Stabilise scope, communicate constraints, and invest in learning and maintenance. Use the time to prepare the ground for the next cycle.
☕ Reflection: lessons from the allotment
Growth is rarely visible while it’s happening.
You don’t see the crop growing day by day, you just show up, water, and trust the process.
People are the same. We can’t always see progress in real time, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
It takes patience, consistency, and the ability to stay present, to notice what’s quietly taking root around us.
It reminds me of a small moment from home, long ago.
Most weekends, we try to do something outdoors as a family. One Saturday, we planned a trip to a lovely farm, the kind with animals, soft play areas, and plenty to keep little ones busy. Everyone was excited.
The morning came, and we, the parents, were rushing around, packing snacks, extra clothes, and the usual chaos that comes with family outings. Finally ready to go, our youngest calmly announced that he wasn’t coming.
He was busy playing with his new LEGO firefighter truck. It was his whole world at that moment.
At first, I wanted to insist, we’d planned this trip, after all! But then it hit me: this was his moment. He didn’t need the big day out. He was already where he wanted to be.
So I sat down and joined him. We decided that, in fact, there was a big fire to put out on the farm, and our firefighter mission was to go and save the day.
It worked. We all had a great time, but the real lesson stayed with me.
As adults, we spend so much time planning for what’s next and analysing what’s already happened that we forget to live in the now.
Kids remind us that joy is often right where we are, if only we stop long enough to notice it.
Next time you find yourself lost in “what’s next,” pause and ask:
Am I still enjoying what I’m doing right now?
That’s where real growth happens, not in constant motion, but in presence.
Thanks for reading!
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