As I write this week, I await the important response to a series of emails that seem to be being ignored.

I have been tracking this particular aspect of my project for almost two months now with little to no movement. Initially, the excuse of the holiday season was acceptable and understood. But, as the days in January drag on, I recognize that a response is not only critical for the project to proceed, the lack of response is telling of the state of our relationship to the other party.

I am holding to the fact that the quality of their response will be the true reward for my patience but, what can I do in the meantime to temper frustration and agony of the unknown?

Be patient. Ugh. The last thing I feel wired to be good at. As a feisty professional who gets #%@& done, being patient is not my strong suit. 

In my early years as a professional, I simply did not have it. I moved the projects forward, irregardless of others timeframes and, in many cases, built a reputation for being swift and uncaring in my decision making. I offended many people and stakeholders, often avoiding confrontation with me due to a healthy fear that I would not consider their viewpoint anyway (which was true, so in hindsight, I get it).

Over the years, I began to recognize this fault in my character and realized that I could learn from choosing patience as a practice in leaning in towards others. Obviously this is a part of having emotional intelligence but, at that time in my career, there was little to no value for that. In fact, due to being a woman, I intentionally avoided developing this so as to not be seen as ‘a weak female’.

Fast forward to today and now, I see that my intentional patience practice gains me perspective that I would not otherwise have. Some decisions on our projects need to be slow. Some need the time for emotions to settle so clearer judgments can be made.

I am still waiting for a response to my emails but, with the patience I have practiced, I can see the plan beginning to unfold and the environmental factors around me unfurling in benefit to a host of aspects of the project I simply didn't see to consider. It isn’t a comfortable place to be but, the quality of their response will be the true reward for my patience, right?

Amber (a.k.a. The Feisty PM)