Humiliated, I jumped back up
and dusted myself off, grabbed my purse and continued down the sidewalk. I
arrived ten minutes early and had time to fix coffee and meet my teammates at
the assigned time, but no one showed up. I was the only one that came in for
the project. Imagine my dismay and my disappointment.
I had not been given any
specifics for the project, which were to be outlined that same morning, so I
dived in using my own best judgments as I proceeded. An hour and twenty minutes
later, my teammates rambled in after I had progressed well into the project.
The person that had the lead on the project began to walk back most of my
progress by changing the decisions I had made.
This had been one of “those”
mornings. I had fallen victim to the concrete pavement and to annoying and untrustworthy
teammates. Now, I’m having to retrace my steps at no fault of my own. I’ll be
honest, I was visibly disturbed, but I kept my mouth shut.
She had no way of knowing that I was having a bad morning prior to her intrusion, and the part she had played in it by being an hour and twenty minutes late.
I am one of those people
that try to choose my battles wisely. I think if I had said anything, instead
of keeping my mouth shut, it may not have come out the way I intended.
Later in the day, after I’d
recovered, I did let her know that I was having a Murphy’s Law kind of morning,
and the reasons I totally disagreed with her changes. I was able to forgive all
the team members that left me high and dry there before the crack of dawn.
I pride myself on being an
employee with integrity and have very little patience for those whose apathy
effects my ability to do my job well. But there are so many personality types
in the workplace, and no two are alike. It is imperative that we learn to watch
our step with others who may not think, nor act just like us.
So, how should we respond
when dealing with annoying people? The psalmist that wrote Psalm 121 said it
best. “I will lift up my eyes to the hills... From whence comes my help? My help
comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. The LORD is my keeper; the LORD
is the shade at my right hand. The LORD shall preserve my going out and my
coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.”
It is my opinion, that the
wise thing to do is to get to know those who labor among us, using wisdom and
counsel from the LORD in our dealings with them for the good of all… because we
cannot change everybody. The lesson I learned in dealing with that particular
coworker, was if I was going to be involved in a project with her, it was
necessary to get all the information I needed up front, then I would not have
to depend on her input to complete it.