Balance is B.S.

CHAPTER 15The Business of Family: How to build culture and be a leader at home

Imagine if we talked to our colleagues the way we talk to our husbands:

Staff Member:		You look upset. What's the matter?
Me:		NOTHING!
Staff:		Okay … well, I just came to tell you that I'm going on my lunch break now.
Me:		WHATEVER!

Imagine if you did that! They'd change jobs. So why do we think we can get away with talking like this at home?

If you're the breadwinner in your household, you're most likely a pretty amazing woman. You're probably in a position of some power at work. If that's true, you must be a good leader. You'd have to be good at managing people and resources, and being assertive without losing your shit, and empowering people around you to work toward common goals. If those things weren't true, you wouldn't be as successful as you are.

So why does a professionally empowered woman get home from work and stick her “I'm taking everything personally” hat back on? I do it, you do it, we all do it. We're not victims at work. So let's not fall into a victim mentality in our personal lives.

BUILDING CULTURE AT HOME

We spend a lot of time talking about the importance of workplace culture, and don't always give the same attention to household culture. What's the culture like in your home?

In business, we have all kinds of tools at our fingertips to keep our workplace interactions healthy: a company vision, shared values, policies about accountability, regular reviews, and ...