Corporate Life Is Testing My Patience… Literally

I think one of the best things you can know about yourself is your flaws. That way, if someone calls you out, you’re not offended... you already own it. So let me go ahead and put mine out there:

Hi, I’m CC… and I’m impatient.

I jump the gun. I don’t like waiting. I want things done on my schedule, or at least on the schedule we agreed on. Not five minutes late. Not two weeks later. When I ask my husband for help and he doesn’t drop what he’s doing right away, I’ll start trying to do it myself (cue me dragging a barstool through the house while muttering under my breath).

But here’s the thing: my impatience does come with some perks.

For example, I am timely. Tell me to be somewhere at 4:30 p.m., and I will absolutely be there at 4:20. (Shoutout to my softball coach who instilled in us that if you’re early, you’re on time; if you’re on time, you’re late; and if you’re late… start running. And let’s be clear: I. Don’t. Run.)

I’m also lightning-fast at responding to emails and Teams messages, and I really appreciate when others are the same. There’s nothing like trying to move a project forward only to be stalled out by a one-sentence approval that takes three business days. It’s a special kind of pain.

This year, though, I’ve finally hit my “corporate wall.”

I never truly understood the real annoyances of the corporate world until recently: the hoops, the layers, the approvals, the hierarchy. In my mind, a lot of my asks are pretty straightforward - big company, big systems, right? Surely someone owns this process.

But the reality? No one knows who owns it. Or the person who might own it needs to “loop in” four other people before anything moves forward. I say all this with love (I genuinely love my job and my company) but the corporate world is not built for the impatient and driven.

So if you’ve ever felt this too, I see you.

Here’s to the go-getters, the early arrivers, the “I just need a quick answer!” people. We might be impatient, but hey... at least we’re moving.

Still waiting on that reply,

-CC