Have you ever worked with someone for so long that you “just get each other”? Well, I have that kind of relationship with Emma, my assistant.
She’s been a part of my company since 2013 and has made a big difference in helping me to accomplish great things, which in turn means that I am freed up to accomplish even more for my clients.
I love having Emma be a part of my team!
Recently, we were communicating via email about a project:
Emma: “Haha wow, that sentence made no grammatical sense, glad you understood :P”
Jen: “We’ve worked together long enough that I can decipher your poor grammar…! 😉 And that’s why you can decipher my craziness too! It’s all sorts of rad!”
Emma: “haha it’s great! Good team 🙂 And we’ll just forget I was an English major so it’s not as embarrassing haha!”
I think this is a great example of individuals working together effectively and ultimately really understanding one another. As I reflect on how Emma and I work together, here are a few highlights about why we’re a strong team:
- Trust the intentions of the other person. When something goes awry on a project, we have each others backs. There’s no jumping to conclusions about the other person’s intentions. We know that if there’s a mistake it’ll get figured out.
- Communicate our needs. Even though I’m the “boss lady”, Emma treats me as an equal. She knows that she’s a helpful part of the business and speaks up about things that she needs and wants. I, in turn, am able to speak up when I need things from her too.
- Working remotely actually works for us. Emma and I work from two remote locations. Rarely do I get to see her, and that’s even more rare now that I’ve moved an hour north of where I used to live. Our regular staff meetings help keep us on track so that we both know what the other one is focusing on accomplishing.
- It’s personal. I tell her about big things going on in my life, Emma tells me about big things going on in her life. Helping Emma to know what is going on in my life helps her to know how she can better support me. As she tells me about her life, then I can plan for how to incorporate her needs into my business too.
- Sharing is caring. The more I share with Emma about the direction and vision about the company, the more excited she gets… the more she cares too.
We didn’t start off with a super close relationship; it has taken time to develop this trust and open communication. But now, over two and half years later, we really do understand one another. That’s why we can look past poor grammar in an email and look past other hiccups that human beings have when communicating to each other.
How have you connected with your team mates so that you “just get each other” really well?
P.S.
Emma, Thank you for all you do to support me and this small business. I’m very grateful for you, your candor, your friendship and your strengths that dovetail nicely with strengths! Thank you for your patience as we’ve figured out how to grow together and grow the company. Glad to have you on board… bad grammar, and all. Next time we’re together, we seriously need a picture together so I can add to this post. Remind me, ok? And I hope you don’t kill me for sharing publicly that you’re an English Major who occasionally has bad grammar. 🙂