Over the holidays my son and I played several games of chess. Correction, my son constantly beat me at chess.
He beat me time and time again because he possessed two qualities I did not have: vision and patience.
Vision: he saw the whole board. He saw three and four moves ahead. He played the long game.
Patience: he had the temperament to allow the game to play out. He sacrificed pieces in the short-term for the long-term gain.
Me on the other hand, I could only see the move in front of me. With my shortsightedness, I was so eager to take the quick wins I couldn’t see where I left myself open to lose the game only a short few moves later.
I wonder if all my great leaders were great chess players because they all possessed the virtues of vision and patience.