Ten years ago today, I married my perfect match. And I don’t mean match in sense that we are exactly alike in every way. In fact in some ways, we are quite different. I like a nice top 40 radio station and good romantic comedy, while he prefers classic rock, Pink Floyd and science fiction thriller. I could care less is the house or my desk is a little messy, while he spends an enormous amount of time organizing and planning and putting things away. I am a last minute planner and he plans everything well in advance and wants to quiz me on the details over and over. And the laundry, well that’s best left without much detail.
You might assume we drive each other crazy; however, our union works for a couple of reasons. First, we both are considerate of the quirkiness of the other. When he works late, I make sure to put the dishes away so he doesn’t have to worry about when he gets home (and he would even if he was exhausted). He leaves me notes in the morning to remind me when it is library day at the kids’ school so I don’t forget to get the books in the backpacks. We work well together and we complement each other in the small ways.
The small ways are important, but the reason we work so well is really the bigger things. Our priorities are very aligned in every aspect of our lives and our foundational beliefs on what is important in life are the same. We both are committed to doing well in our professional lives, but we are even more committed to making sure we are good parents and good spouses. We see eye to eye on how we want to raise our children and where we want to spend our free time. We are working together to accomplish life goals. The important goals.
In this journey we are taking our differences aren’t negatives. They have made us a better team. Understanding that differences make a stronger unit or team is an often missed concept in many organizations. People like to be around the like-minded individuals and people often hire those who are more like them. However, failing to work in a group with members who compliment your areas of opportunity means your team is weaker than it could be. Don’t get me wrong, the foundational stuff has to be the same. If it is, then it will override the little stuff and comprise and compliment will result in a perfect match.
Happy Anniversary Ron.
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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 15 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development.