The quickest way to achieve success is to eliminate the negatives. Both are equally disastrous. Expecting someone to get back to you stops the action. Take the initiative. Never wait for anyone to return your telephone call.
Excuses indicate a roadblock to action.
You do what you're told, but don't think about what should be happening. Always ask questions to keep things moving. You operate in a tunnel, oblivious to everything that is going on around you. This is the stuff of which downsizing is made. Leaving the message doesn't mean you have accomplished anything or that the responsibility is now passed to the person you called.