ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE:

• How do you handle criticism from your spouse?
• Are you delegating enough?

HOW DO YOU HANDLE CRITICISM FROM YOUR SPOUSE?

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If you think about it your spouse may be one of the best people to help you improve. They probably know you better than anyone else and they probably love you more. If you are working together then they also get to see you in more than one role, so again they are in a unique position to help you grow. And that is what criticism is. It is a critical analysis of your behaviors and an offering of advice on how to change, grow and improve yourself.

The major problem with criticism is that it’s harder to swallow when it comes from someone other than you. And it is even harder to swallow when it comes from someone we care a lot about. It hurts twice as much when the one who we love most thinks we need improving. On the other hand when we decide for ourselves that we need to change something, we give ourselves credit for being very smart to come up with such a good idea. This really seems like a silly game to play. Why not use the collective intelligence of those around you? Criticism from another doesn’t make you bad or undesirable. It is just feedback for your enlightenment.

For more on how to handle criticism and advise to the criticizer check out my latest column on the subject: http://www.kmarshack.com/meet/columns/200112a.html.

ARE YOU DELEGATING ENOUGH?

Text Box: It's not always easy to know when to delegate authority to your employees. There are no absolute guidelines to go by but the following red flags may signal a need to delegate more often. Consider the following:

1. Do you do work that an employee could do just as well?
2. Do you think that you are the only one who actually knows how the job should be done?
3. Do you leave the job each day loaded down with details to take care of at home?
4. Do you frequently stay after hours catching up on work even though your peers don't?
5. Do you seem never to get through with your work?
6. Are you a perfectionist?
7. Do you tell your employees how to solve problems?

If you answered "yes" to many of these questions, it’s probably an indication that you need to learn to delegate more effectively.

These suggestions are from "Supervisory Management: The Art of Empowering and Developing People," Mosley, Donald C., Megginson, Leon C., Pietri, Paul H., South-Western College Publishing, 2001, page 168.

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. For more information on how entrepreneurial couples can make it work at work and at home go to my web site www.entrepreneurialcouples.com. You’ll find exercises, a library of family business articles, on-line consultation and much more. To contact my office call (360) 256-0448 or (503) 222-6678 or email info@kmarshack.com.