Recently I was at a meeting with a variety of individuals with the goal of working on the bullying that takes place in schools today. Many of the individuals there are motivated and real “rainmakers” when it comes to projects. We would call them leaders.
At one point a new person walked in that did not fit the appearance of the rest of the group, and I noticed that many of the others simply did not recognize the person coming in and one of the leaders of the group – rolled their eyes. I am thinking to myself, Here we are talking about bullying and the leader of the group is in fact practicing a form of bullying. It was but 3 weeks later that this person announced that they did not want to continue to be a part of this project.
Having patience when others are different than us is a key part of leadership. I know that the ‘dismissed’ person would have brought a lot to the table and would have contributed in ways that some of the others would not have been able to do. But now they are gone because many were not able to show patience for this individual.
As we get older we still need to be able to show patience for others who are different than us. No we may not make fun of or make rude remarks too them like a child might, but many times our attitude says – I have no patience for you- and that can hurt more than spoken words.
If we are to pass on more patience and understanding on to future generations, then we must be patient with those who are different than us, whether it is religion, appearance, backgrounds or abilities. This is the way of promoting peace in the world.