Patience is a virtue, yes. But it can also be detrimental to getting shit done.
In many ways, I am a very patient person. Sometimes too patient. (My patience does not extend to myself and my goals, unfortunately, but that might be a topic for another post.)
I’ll give you an example:
I had a contract with a client for the first half of last year. When I sent the final invoice, I was informed that their books were frozen and that they wouldn’t be able to pay it until the next fiscal year started, and that I should send it again then. Okay, no problem. Luckily, I wasn’t relying on this money to feed myself, so I sent the invoice again when their next fiscal year started.
And then nothing. Every time I went out of town, I expected to come home to a check in my mailbox, but no dice. I sent reminders. I cc’d the higher ups. I got responses, but still no check. This went on for months. In fact, it’s still going on (though it does look like resolution is imminent, fingers crossed).
I should be paid for the work I did, and in a timely manner. Why have I been so patient with this? Need certainly plays a role here, but it shouldn’t. Just because I don’t need the money doesn’t mean I should wait indefinitely for it.
I think that sometimes I confuse the things that I have no control over with the things that I can influence just a little bit, and that’s where I go astray in my utilization of patience. I’m not afraid to be a squeaky wheel when it’s about something I know I can influence (just ask my coworkers). Maybe I just need practice recognizing the things I have some influence over when, at first, it looks like I don’t.
Also, I don’t want to become a “difficult” person to work with, whether I’m the client or the provider, and I think that plays a big part, too. But if holding people accountable to deadlines and other agreements means I’m difficult, then we have bigger problems.
What about you? Are you too patient? How do you know when to speak up?