Don't Make Your Partner Be Your Boss

DON’T MAKE YOUR PARTNER BE YOUR BOSS

There’s a lot of country songs where the singer is complaining about “the Boss”. There’s countless movie scenes (usually comedies) where characters are dealing with a boss and it’s the worst thing in their world. Most people need someone to tell them to get to work.  Essentially, the role of a boss is a much-needed presence because most people simply don’t do what needs to be done.  A low-skill employee in a low-paying job will very likely need motivation. And will definitely need supervision. They just simply aren’t going to get the job done right if there’s not someone standing over their shoulder making them toe the line.

Entrepreneurs are a special breed. 

We know what needs to be done, and we get up every morning and get after it. Small business owners know a level of hard work that the typical “office cubicle” employee does not.  If you have ventured into owning a small (or big!) business, then you know it’s on YOU to do whatever it takes to succeed. Also, the very premise of this whole idea of being a genuine Power Couple is that you, yourself, are a partner that gets it done and wants to be excellent!  

Your partner does not want to have to tell you to do stuff. 

Your partner wants to see you be highly motivated, and conquering your duties like a champ.  You need to bring a level of self-motivated awesomeness to your partnership. This will pay dividends in a few specific ways. Being a hard-working part of the equation will create a “spiral-up effect” where you and your partner are consistently motivating each other to do better, do more, and keep going. Seeing your other-half tackling big problems with a good attitude is quite the aphrodisiac! 

Another big dividend of having a good work-ethic is it will prevent feelings of frustration from festering. Sometimes we wonder if we’re the only one working hard in this equation.  We fall into the pattern of feeling like we’re doing more than our fair share. We have discussed the risk we take when we get involved with a partner — what if your partnership ends up with you doing most of the work?  That feeling of resentment is a poison that can lead to big problems down the road. Agreeing that you both will own your own hustle-motivation will insure you both work hard. This will wash away any feelings of resentment that one of you isn’t pulling your own weight. One more dividend of maintaining a good work ethic is you maintain a clear conscience! There’s a definite feeling of guilt when you know you haven’t pulled your own weight. The feeling only compounds when our spouse sees it - or even worse has to confront you about it. 

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SUMMARY

As entrepreneurs, we have signed up to be our own boss.  This means YOU motivate YOU!  We don’t put this on our spouse. In this book we frequently talk about nurturing gratefulness for your partners hard work.  When we see our partner working hard, it’s a comfort.  However, the inverse is true as well.  If we aren’t bringing our best, it has an adverse effect on the entire partnership. We should strive to have a work ethic that doesn’t get called into question.