3 Ways Marriage Makes You A Better Employee

Let me be the first to say, this quote speaks to me: “Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.”

There’s nothing I love more than being and being around strong, independent, success-driven women who challenge and respect each other. The type of women who know who they are, love who they are and want to see other women find that confidence within themselves. The type of women who give this world a “get out of my way and let me get shit done” attitude. That is what I wake up each day and breathe in. That is the attitude I want to fill this world with. Those are my people.

But as my first wedding anniversary came and went over the weekend, I couldn’t help but think about how my role as a wife, one of many that I choose to assume every day, affected my role as an employee.

1. Communication is key.

Obvious right? It’s the advice you solicit from people who have 10, 15, 20 years experience under their belt. It sounds so simple. But it’s not. And that’s what you don’t realize until you’re in a four-day argument with someone you share less than 1,000 square feet of living space with. And it’s the same with that client you’re now in a week-past-deadline situation, which could have been resolved with a little more transparency and honest communication in the upfront. In both marriage and business: when you have something to say or ask, you say or ask it. You don’t make assumptions. You clarify expectations with your audience early.

2. You’re not always right. (And you have to accept that.)

When I was just starting out in the agency world, I read about the “1,2,3 rule.” In marketing, it means you get three chances to defend your work. The fourth chance, that’s when you lose your client. With a marriage, you can’t give a 30-day notice (I guess technically you can but, gross). But like good creative, you have the right to defend your opinions, your thoughts, your feelings – but if you’re repeating the same conversation and keep hitting the same walls, it’s probably time to reevaluate where each person is coming from. Unfortunately, at times, that reevaluation might mean you have to admit fault; that you may have just missed the mark on this one.

3. Trust your team.

Signing a 12-month retainer might not be comparable to promising the rest of your life to someone (oy!) but it does display a level of shared commitment. Choosing to be a wife means I choose every day to civically disagree, lovingly challenge my husband and always keep our shared dreams in mind. In business, this means building a team you can count on – assembling smart, creative individuals who each bring something unique to the table. And when deadlines whiz past, differences in opinions bubble to the top and tempers flair, you all have the ability to keep one thing in mind: you’re on the same team and you’re here to do great work for your client.