There has been a lot of buzz recently about women and the name change struggle. Article after article has examined society’s impression of taking a spouse’s name. I thought it would be timely to share this wingspouse’s story. Meet Mr. S. Mr. S wrote: (more…)
Topic: ‘Home and Family’
Organizational Behavior Mimics Leadership (C)
August 19th, 2010 by Kathi the wingspouse
This is the third installment in a series: Alphabets for Wingspouses based on Dan Rockwell’s original blog post The letter “C” for leaders-Constraint. Dan starts with a statement that equally applies to a wingspouse…”You constrain your organization.”
According to WordIQ.com, an organization is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, controls its own performance, and has a boundary separating it from its environment. As wingspouses, our social arrangement is marriage and family. Our collective goals are defined within our families. Our performance is the very best. Our boundaries include putting family first. (more…)
Leaders Strive to Be Better Than the Best (B)
August 17th, 2010 by Kathi the wingspouse
This is the second installment in a series: Alphabets for Wingspouses based on Dan Rockwell’s original blog post The best “B” word for leaders – Better.
Let’s start with one basic truth. Wingspouses don’t settle for best. They want something BETTER. How do we get there?
Banish – Expel all the B words that get in the way of your leadership role. Don’t bitch about what you have given up for you partner. Don’t blame your bad attitude on others. Don’t brag about your contributions to the career.
Better – Strive to be better, not the best. When you strive to be the best, you are accepting other people’s limitations. Shoot for something no one can predict… something better. Better is a moving target — one you aim for by building on past experience and new insight. Focus on ways to improve your marriage, your family, your relationships, and your future.
Believe – Be confident that you will set a new bar for others to surpass. Have faith that your partner shares this belief and that what you achieve together is amazing.
Bless – (yes, I added this one) Share your blessings with others. An attitude of gratitude is more rewarding and contagious than one of greed or arrogance. “Humble yourself and you shall be honored. Honor yourself and you shall be humbled.“-Author unknown
Attitude Positive Effect on Home and Career (A)
August 12th, 2010 by Kathi the wingspouse
Dan Rockwell is a great blogger for leadership tips and he recently started a series of posts he refers to as the ABCs of leadership. His posts were insightful and as I read them I realized similar advice would apply to us — the wingspouses. We are in a non-traditional leadership role, but a leadership role none the less. I decided it would be fun to provide links to each of his posts, and then apply his advice to the wingspouse role. (more…)
DIY Classy Travel
August 6th, 2010 by Kathi the wingspouse
Companies often use a travel agent to book flights. I know my husband’s company does. When Mark and I start planning a trip somewhere together he usually says, “I’ll have my secretary take care of the flight arrangements.” It’s nice that he is attempting to save me the inconvenience, but that is not always our best option if I’m paying for my own ticket. Why? Because I use some tricks to find the great flight deals that businesses don’t necessarily know or care about when a travel agent books a trip. (more…)
