By: O.L./Sway Buckley
The other day, while working on a project for our business, I had to run a few errands, and mailing the project off to our clients was the final errand for the day.
I asked my husband (who was in his office space working on something different) if he planned on coming with me. (Mind you, I shared my plans with him during our daily legacy meeting earlier that morning).
He reassured me that he was coming.
As we left, I felt a bit of tension in the air, but I wasn't sure where it was coming from.
As we discussed the project and I asked him how I could support what he was working on, he notified me of a huge 'setback' about the project.
I was shocked that he hadn't told me sooner.
His reasoning was that he planned to let me know when we spoke.
This is where the lesson came in.
Had I known about this update, I would have encouraged him to stay home and focus all his energy there. But because he didn't want to disappoint me, he held the pressure in-but it was seeping out.
I realized then that it wasn't enough for me to tell him that he should have told me, but I modeled how he could update me without feeling like he wasn't fully supporting our business.
When I gave him a framework (loose script) of how he could share that he did want to support and wrap up the project together, but he had also been given some news that required his immediate attention, I was relieved.
Despite his desire to support me, I've noticed that sometimes my husband is stretched so thin. It would be selfish of me to take it out on him, but instead, it's important to encourage and equip him with how to say what he needs from me in a way that I can see the big picture (because, at times, I'm stretched thin as well).
It will be 24 years of friendship and 14 years of marriage this year, and we're still relearning each other on this marriedpreneur journey.
I hope this encourages you today on your marriedpreneur journey! If you're seeking to keep healthy communication as a pillar in your marriage and business, consider doing routine legacy meetings. If you need a checklist to start with, you can use this one here.
Here's to living purposefully, powerfully, and profitably in sync,
O.L. & Sway
O.L. is a former banker turned real estate consultant and entrepreneur. Sway is a former CEO of a staffing firm she started on her dorm room floor to pay for college. Together they co-own Marriedpreneur Life Consultancy, equipping faith-based married entrepreneur couples with high-level systems to scale (without strain). They're the creators of the Marriedpreneur Operating Systems and the co-hosts of The Marriedprenuer Life Podcast, which was praised as one of Wedding Wire's top relationship podcasts. Learn more at MarriedpreneurLife.com.