When I wear my husband hat and then work in my business, I have a huge responsibility to my wife. Having the Spouse hat requires us to communicate openly to our other halves as if they actually are our other half. We like to go out on dates and just chat about the business and all the challenges and opportunities. I cannot expect my wife to understand all the technical stuff I talk about but she does appreciate the communication and openness. I always tell her about any new client we get and she pops her head in at workshops to say ‘Hi’. My role is to not only talk but to listen as well. So often when I am facing a huge decision about a new venture or partner programme, I will bounce it off my wife to get her opinion on not only the idea but the person. Women have this 6^th sense thing that will often detect issues that I am blind to and if undetected could lead to disaster further down the line. I have also agreed to open up completely to my wife about any dealings with other women I have. Often as a coach our conversations could get personal and lead to that place where information is shared and doors could be opened that lead to dark places. I have a rule on this, always meet in public places and always tell my wife about any female clients, and keep that channel open at all stages. Men are weak and need the support of our Spouses. We can only get that if we share and talk to them.

Next week the last in this series when we look at the Parent hat.