Married to the Hustle
Married to the Hustle
Leading with Love: Teamwork & Decision-Making for Entrepreneurial Couples
Ever wondered how to balance love and leadership when running a business with your spouse? On this episode of "Married to the Hustle," we'll unlock the secrets of effective teamwork and leadership that can transform your entrepreneurial journey. Learn how to build a well-structured team that shares your vision and respects clearly defined roles, preventing any confusion among employees. Drawing insights from John Maxwell's five levels of leadership, Jessica and I discuss the evolution of trust within a team and the importance of continuous learning and mentoring.
We also dive into the practical aspects of making joint business decisions, such as evaluating a potential new account despite logistical challenges. Discover the significance of being present and involved at all levels of your business, and why a heart-centered approach to decision-making can make all the difference. Whether you're navigating the complexities of working with a spouse or looking to boost your leadership skills, our personal anecdotes and real-life examples will provide valuable lessons on leveraging individual strengths and maintaining clear boundaries for smoother operations. Tune in for a candid conversation that blends practical advice with heartfelt reflections on the entrepreneurial journey.
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Alex & Jessica Fortis
Welcome to Married to the Hustle, the podcast where love, faith and business come together.
Jessica:I'm Jessica, and with me is my partner in life and business, alex. Together, we're diving into the wild world of entrepreneurial couples.
Alex:Each week, we'll bring you real stories, hilarious moments and valuable insights from couples who are building businesses and rocking their relationships. Talk about living the dream or surviving the nightmare.
Alex:So buckle up and get ready for a fun ride with Married to the Hustle. Welcome back, guys. We're so excited to have you here with us on this week's episode. We're going to be chatting a little bit about the power of teamwork and how it is, you know, getting the team in place and working together and respecting each other's boundaries. Again, today we have. I'm joined by my beautiful wife, jessica hey guys. So, jessica, you're excited to talk about this topic, because I know I am. I mean, we're nothing without our team, right?
Alex:And having the right team in place and a group of great individuals that are seeing the vision as a whole. And yeah, let's talk about this topic, Jessica. What do you think about teamwork and how it plays in the company right now?
Jessica:I think it's so pivotal because the reality is that we can't run the business by ourselves, right? But when it comes to teamwork, it's not just the teamwork of the team as a whole, it's also dividing those roles and responsibilities that you and I have as well, so that the team knows who exactly they need to report to, who can they go to for certain things. And so divvying up the responsibilities is really important, because one of the biggest things that happens when you're building a business with your spouse is that the employees don't know who to go to, and so a lot of times like children, right, it's like they'll come to you and say something. It's like oh you know, correct, correct from a different perspective, from a different understanding, and it may at times, look like we're not on the same page. And so that's why it's so important for teamwork, not only for the team themselves, but also how we tend to divvy that up.
Alex:Correct. Correct, and just remembering as well that you can't build anything on your own right. You got to have the right people in place and trusting in others to make the right decisions right. And if it's not the right decision right, then and there they made it and we learn from it and we go on right. That's the continual process that we go through is learning, learning as you're growing, and I would say trust plays a really big role in effective teamwork Trusting that person, learning together, mentoring, you know, coaching I know Jessica here's coaching and her eyes just like open up, right, because Jessica just loves to coach people and she's great at it. And what do you say like the trust? How does that play a role in teamwork?
Jessica:Well, it goes back to who we are as leaders, right, I'm a huge fan of John Maxwell, and John Maxwell talks about the five levels of leadership. And so in the first level of leadership, he talks about position, right. So. So people will follow you because they have to. They have no choice, right? So sometimes, as the owner of the company, they're like oh, that's the owner, that's the owner of the company, I have to do whatever they tell me.
Jessica:And so building trust is where you start to gain. You know that. That level two of leadership, which is permission, this is where you're building relationships. This is where people will follow you, because now they want to, they want to follow you. You're helping them build that trust, and so they're starting to see you, how you're building a relationship with them. You're getting to know them. You're getting to know their pains, their struggles, but also the things that make them happy. And so that moves you into level three in the five levels of leadership, where now you start to talk about production, and people will follow you because of what you've done for the organization, what you've done for the company, and they know that you can deliver results. So they're following you because they know that if they go to you, you're going to get it done.
Jessica:And so, as you continue, the other two levels of leadership one of them is in people development and reproduction, so the people that you follow because of what you've done for them.
Jessica:And then, lastly, is the pinnacle, which is their respect, which is people will follow because of who you are and what you represent. And that's where there's an alignment there with core values, there's an alignment there with your mission, your vision, and so the most important thing when it comes to trust is that we are moving up and down those five levels at every given time. Right, you hire someone new. They respect you because of position. You develop someone and you promote from within. Now you're in level four in the people development, right, and so what happens is that trust, it's constantly moving. We don't just arrive and now I trust you. This is a process that we all have to go through in order to trust each other and to be able to hold each other accountable, and when that trust is broken, it takes a very long time to repair it, and so that's why trust is pivotal when it comes to teamwork.
Alex:That's so true Back in the day. I know I've always had that, that wall up right where it's. It's really hard for me to trust people, but I've learned and it was one of our pastors that had spoke about it Right, and I think you have mentioned it previously, right, what was the saying? Where you know I trust you until you give me reasons not to.
Jessica:And so Alex and I, right, we have the. We're two different backgrounds, we're two different individuals. We're so different, right, we're very similar in a lot of things, but we're very different in others, right? And Alex is show me and I will trust you, and that's something that he's working on, right. And then I'm the opposite.
Jessica:I'm like I will trust you until you show me otherwise, right, I'm like I will trust you until you show me otherwise, right? So so it's very important to assess where you are when it comes to trust. And I'm not talking about being naive, right, because the reality is that sometimes we step into, you know, conversations or relationships or business deals with people you know, thinking that they have the right intentions, right, but it's because they didn't show me any other reason why I shouldn't trust them, right? So so there's a very fine line between not trusting, between fully trusting someone and just absolutely stepping into that conversation, being completely naive. And so that's where we, as leaders and business owners, we need to do some self-discovery in order to identify what are some, some of those areas in trust that I that I need to work on, and and and I'll say I'll say this too when it comes to business owners.
Alex:A lot of times we lack trust in the delegation process and I think that's one of my faults too, right, and I know we've spoken about it like delegating right.
Alex:We're actually, you know, trying to implement the EOS and one of them is delegating to elevate right, delegate to elevate Yep. And that's been the toughest for me because you know this is your baby right and I think in part of that book they talk about too, you know, the branches, ripping apart the branches and watching the tree grow, grooming the tree, you know, and that's pretty much what you're doing in your business is trying to groom people to take on tasks, to learn a little bit more, to involve them in more decision-making, right, and that all involves trust because it's your baby right. So you're watching your baby, you start crawling, you start walking right and having the right guidance behind you. Jessica, I just wanted to touch back right, because I know we both are big John Maxwell fans and the book that you talked about, that we were just talking about the Five Levels of Leadership and I need you to be honest what level do you see me at right now in leadership Between that one and five?
Jessica:That's a terrible question to ask me on a podcast.
Alex:Why.
Jessica:Why you know, and that's the thing this is. You know, like I was saying before, you're going to be in different levels at different times, right? And so the perfect example of that is someone brand new that doesn't know you. You're always going to be in level one if you don't build a relationship with them, correct?
Alex:So that actually just happened to me where we hired someone new and she was surprised to see me at one of the locations. She was like, oh my gosh, you know why are you here, Right? And I said I'm part of the team, just like everybody else. If I have to, you know, get down and sweat, and I know this job is not easy, but I'm I'm here to help and assist and serve wherever I can.
Alex:And that went. That went a really long way for her right, Because she she wasn't used to that, seeing that, you know, she's used to being told what to do and, kind of like, be very stern and and she appreciated it. And we appreciate her, you know, because without, without the team, we're nobody. But it goes back to that level one there.
Jessica:Exactly, but you were able to build a relationship with her, so that moves you into level two, right, and then what happens is, if she doesn't see you again, you're back to level one. Level one, yeah, and so that's the key. So when you asked me that trick question, that's not even right, alex. But when you asked me that trick question, that's not even right, alex. But when you asked me that trick question where I see you, right as my husband.
Alex:I see you as a pinnacle right, someone who A level five right, a level five Totally.
Jessica:Right, okay, but that's right now. Right, yeah, that's right now, at this moment, because I know your heart, I know your passion, I know what you represent, I know your mission, your vision, your dreams, your goals, right, and so I see that. But the great part of being able to answer this type of question is that self-reflection piece and I will tell you that, for me, I see myself in between a level three and a four in this company. Right, and as owner of, you know, co-owner with you in this company, because, you know, the team gets to see me more, they know that I produce results, they know that I love to develop people and, you know, and I want to help them grow. But, but, but that's usually where I see myself in. You know, I see myself in that level three, level four.
Jessica:Now, if we go into into my coaching business, right, because I know what I give, I see myself as a level five all the way, you know. But it goes back to, I mean, I just had a discovery call today with a new client and does she know me? No, and it's an opportunity for me to work on building that know, like and trust and so, and so we're constantly. It's like a throttle right. You're moving up and down, up and down on the five levels of leadership, and these five levels, they're not the end, all be all right. But the fundamentals of leadership that John Maxwell discusses are truly what helped me in my leadership career when I was in corporate. And so those levels never change, they never change. And so when I say they never change, I mean like the principles. Right, the principles don't change, but we do change depending on our audience, depending on our team, depending on how we've worked on ourselves. If there's someone who's pulling rank all the time, they're never going to leave level one.
Alex:Correct.
Jessica:Correct, and so that's really important for someone to you know to be able to assess that, and in the five levels of leadership there's actually a leadership assessment. So anyone and obviously this is not, obviously this is not a paid promotion but the five levels of leadership with John Maxwell you can find this on Amazon and in the beginning pages there's a leadership assessment that I highly recommend that you take, because at that point you'll be able to really assess what is it that you need to work on in order to improve among the different levels.
Jessica:And so when you find yourself back at a level one, you know exactly what you need to focus on to get to two and three and four and five Right right man, jessica, you always come, you always give some nuggets.
Alex:I tell you.
Jessica:I live ready, I live ready.
Alex:She's definitely an inspiration to me, for sure. Like she, I can tell her something and yeah, well, check out this book, you know, or she'll send something with me. So she always gives me nuggets, which I appreciate, and that's how this all came about. And so in the company, right, when we have to make decisions, right, if you can describe, or I can describe, I can share how do we make the joint decisions in the company when it comes to either hiring, taking on new business.
Alex:Lately, like this morning, I was out in Palmetto, Florida, going to look at an account and one of the first things you said was you sure you want to go work out there? Right, because it's two hours away from where we're at. But the reason why I do it is because we have to answer that call. Right, it's the customer's call right, and this is someone that we've done business in the past with and being able to be an answer for his company. You know the big construction corporation and their multimillion dollar business. I don't want to say no to that because just because it's two hours away. So yesterday, when I spoke to you about it, you know you kind of a little and do you show you how to how do we, how do we come to the conclusion? Okay, I'm just going to take the ride out there. You remember what I told you.
Jessica:No, I don't remember what you told me, but. But I know why you're doing it, though, but, but I don't remember what you told me.
Alex:What was that that they? You asked me. You sure, recently we took on some projects in Jacksonville and there were some overnight stuff. It was a little tough for all of us and I think part of the issue of me going out to Palmetto is because you didn't want to see a repeat of what happened in Jacksonville. Right, and I totally get it. You're looking out for us, right, looking out for me. I'm not one that likes to be away from home, but you know, and then I told you, I said you know it's the customer. They've called us before, they've used us before. We never had an issue with them and in business, when you're trying to grow and meet the customer's expectations, sometimes you have to take that drive Right. So I don't think it was it was a bad decision, but I think it was a pretty joint decision for us. What do you think?
Jessica:Yeah, yeah, I mean, there are some decisions that have to make sense, right, they have to make sense. And sometimes you know making sense in renegotiating the contract, making sure that your contract has a clause that says you know that this contract is, there is some type of expectation that if it doesn't meet the needs both mutually beneficial to both the client and us right that it should have a clause in there that indicates that we will sit down and discuss this and renegotiate, right, because that way you're clear on what needs to take place. But not all money is good money, and I think we talked about this before in one of our previous episodes and is that there are times that we have to learn to say no, right. And just like there are times that you know a yes is a no brainer, right. And so for me, when making a decision, I have I have this little sticky, sticky note here, because for a while I used to struggle in saying no- she goes with those nuggets again.
Alex:guys, I'm telling you she's just full of nuggets. Get your pen and paper.
Jessica:And so I was struggling and saying no, and when I would say no, I was almost like disgruntled, right? And so I started really to identify okay, what's the decision at hand? And so I asked myself and I did this with my coach, by the way Number one is who is it serving? Right, if I'm making a decision, who is it serving? Is it for the client? Is it beneficial for the company? Is it beneficial for the team? Right, so who is it serving?
Jessica:Number one, keeping that in mind. Number two if I'm taking on the job, then whose workload is it alleviating? Because if it's not alleviating any other workload, then there's an issue in the delegation process, right? So whose workload is it alleviating? Number three is is it creating any efficiency and processes? So, by me saying yes or saying no, by making this decision, is it creating any efficiencies and processes in the process? Right, in the process of me saying yes, did we develop something new? Did we develop something more efficient? Because if we're saying yes to something and we're going back into, you know the, the a nightmare, you know, there there's sometimes. Alex takes on a project and he'll be like I'm worried, this floor feels like it's going to be a nightmare and I'm like don't say that Right, and don't say that.
Alex:But that goes back to like mindset too right, because we spoke about it a few few weeks. The garbage you put in is the garbage you're going to put out. So, maintaining positivity.
Jessica:Exactly. And then the last one in my decision-making process is does this show a heart-centered approach? Because there are times that we make a decision and we're not looking at the bigger picture. We might be looking at the profit, right. It's like, oh man, this is really profitable, right. We might be looking at, you know, oh, we have some extra work for the team. You know, when we're slow, you know some, some of our team members are like, hey, you got something else, you got someone else to get me send me somewhere, right, but that's not enough. And then the key is, if you, if you take on decisions with a heart center approach, that this is beneficial all the way around for everyone that's involved, then it's a good decision, right and so and so. That that was one of the things that I wrote down, and when we moved our office, it was on my desk over there, and when we were in Winter Park, and now I I have it on top of my new office desk, and so it's just really important to be able to navigate through that.
Jessica:And if you're having problems with decision making and kind of like dividing those roles and responsibilities inside of a business, when you're running a business with your spouse. That's an opportunity for reflection. Right when you're running a business with your spouse, that's an opportunity for reflection. You really want to sit down and identify what are some of those strengths and weaknesses that you each bring to the table. How do you leverage that? I just had a conversation with Alex the other day. I'm going to put you out there. We went to a networking event and a couple of times in the networking event people were asking me questions about pricing and that kind of thing and I was like, oh yeah, I don't do pricing or bids. That's Alex, I'll bring him over there, I'll introduce you to Alex, right? And then I would bring him over and I would introduce him.
Alex:And so he says a couple of days ago he says you want me to show you how to do a bid, just in case you get that question again. And this is what you do, and not that I'm not that I'm an expert, but it's just something that I've learned, and I'm not afraid to show others, you know.
Jessica:But that was the thing. Right. Right and identifying strengths and weaknesses. When I say I don't know anything about, about you know prices and how to set up a bid, doesn't mean I want to do it Right and so being very clear. Right. Being clear on that boundary was important to me, right, and so that's where identifying strengths and weaknesses is is really important. Like, you stay in your lane and I stay in mine, and we'll be good.
Alex:Right, and you usually you're pretty clear with that. That doesn't interest me, I don't need to learn that. Nope, you do. And if you have a question about such and such, then you come to me and I'm like whoa. But it's hey, there's. I don't get upset, I actually respect it because you know she said setting her boundaries Right, and we need to respect each other's boundaries and we both have strengths and weaknesses.
Jessica:Absolutely.
Alex:I could probably again, not an expert, but I can probably close a sale on an account where Jessica might not be able to close out an account. Again, jessica might be able to put something together that we need for a system right, and that's one of my weaknesses, you know I can't.
Jessica:And then the connection.
Jessica:Oh my gosh, alex is so good at connecting with our team you know, just to be able to get to know them and explore what they like and what they don't. And I just don't have that nurturing side of me, you know, and and and it's okay, I mean I try, I try to nurture, right. But then I know, you know, there were times when we were both out in the field when we started our business and Alex would come home and be like man, this person's going through this and did you know? Like you know, I wish we could do something for them and I'm like how'd you know that? And he's like I just got to know her and I'm like, wow, like you know.
Jessica:So so it's like it's not that I don't take the time to build that, that relationship or nurture it. I just I don't know. I just I'm not great at it, you know. It's like. It's like when they put me as a greeter to serve listen, I'm there to serve, but I'm just so awkward at greeting people at the door and so I'm just not really good at it and it's okay, right, but I still serve with a good heart, right, but I'm just not.
Alex:I'm just not great at it, and so I try to stay in my lane Right, right, and that's one of the I wouldn't say weak points for me. I think it's a strength, right To be able to, to sit and talk to someone, for you know five minutes and you can find out, you know a whole lot about them.
Jessica:Right.
Alex:I always, I always say to myself when you meet someone new, you never know what they're going through, right, and this can be a starting point for many people, right, coming in to be part of our team. We have, you know, a few people that just came from another country and they're happy to be here and this is their first job. So learning about them a little bit. What's their background? Right. And one of them happens to be back in her country she's a nurse, right. Background right. And one of them happens to be back in her country, she's a nurse, right. So how cool is that to get to know just different people.
Alex:And again, it goes back to building the trust, right, getting the buy-in from everyone. And I've always been that way. And I want to say just watching my mom, like, growing up, she was always, she always served everybody. She was always worried about others before herself, right. So when you see things, because you, what you're taking in is what you put out, right, we go. It always goes back to that, right, what you take in is what you put out. And seeing my mom I mean my mom is even to this day you go to visit her. You're not leaving her house without a plate of food, a cup of coffee, right?
Alex:And she is just the way she is right. It's a natural thing to her and I think you know me seeing it, it becomes natural to us. So that goes back to like leveraging the strengths right and how we complement each other in the business Right, right, right, because there's some things that Jessica doesn't enjoy doing, there's certain things that I don't enjoy doing that Jessica does very well in and I don't do so well right. So we kind of leverage each other's strength to go forward, to move forward right, to push the needle ahead, like they say. So, yeah, anything else, you wanted to touch on that, jessica?
Jessica:No, I mean I encourage you guys to assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and we do the SWOT analysis on business level, but many times we don't take the opportunity to do that on an individual level, and so it's so important for you to know what are some areas where you know you need to stay in your lane, and one of the biggest issues with family-owned businesses and couples building a business is that they're they're bumping. They're bumping heads with each other. You know they're. They're if they take the assessment from traction, and they're both visionaries right, there's truly no execution strategy. And so the same way with the integrator role. So so they take the assessment. They're both integrators. There's nobody with a vision, the integrator role. So so they take the assessment, they're both integrators. There's nobody with a vision.
Jessica:And so it's so important to be able to understand each other's strengths, understand what makes what you're really good at and what you're not. And you know, I I'm more, I'm more of the direct, you know approach, and Alex is more of like that nurturer. And so if we need someone to give a nudge to a client because you know they need and Alex is more of like that nurturer, and so if we need someone to give a nudge to a client because you know they need to be nurtured a little bit, then you know I'll pass them on to Alex, he'll give him a call, he'll soften them up. But if I also need to contact someone to collect on a bill or something like that, right, it's like I have to take a different approach. You know, be a little bit more direct in order to get paid just you and your spouse. It's really important to know how to leverage each other's strengths so that you're not stepping on each other's toes at all times, and so that would be my biggest recommendation.
Jessica:How about you as we close our show?
Alex:Yeah, jessica mentioned the SWOT analysis and we've done it probably about two or three times. Right, and those of you that don't know the SWOT analysis, it stands for the your strengths, your weaknesses, opportunities and threats right within your business. We've done quite a bit of. We've done the disk, we've done the SWOT, we've did quite a few right where it's trying to trying to get better and serve people better, right? So without teamwork I mean I'm going to close out Without teamwork there's no work. Pretty much to put it clear, building a team, trusting in your team. It does take time, it doesn't happen overnight, but, yeah, without teamwork, delegating to elevating, right, that's another one. I'm trying to give some nuggets, like Jessica, yeah, yeah, jessica.
Jessica:Say in your lane Say in your lane Jessica.
Alex:She's a big note taker, so she's got all this stuff written down and she's trying to get me like that. She recently bought me last year the Remarkable, so I'm trying to get you know a hold of getting using the Remarkable a little bit more.
Jessica:So Awesome.
Alex:All right guys. So with that, we thank you guys for joining us and we can't wait to share our next episode with you. And until then, keep hustling. That wraps up another episode of Married to the Hustle. We hope you enjoyed today's show and found some inspiration and practical tips to apply to your own business journey.
Jessica:We love hearing from you, our amazing listeners. If you have any stories, questions or tips to share, connect with us on social media or send us an email. Your input makes this podcast even better.
Alex:And don't forget to subscribe to Married to the Hustle on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review. It really helps us grow and reach more entrepreneurial couples like you.
Jessica:Join us next week for more exciting stories, insightful interviews and valuable advice. Until then, keep hustling, keep thriving and keep loving what you do.
Alex:Thanks for tuning in and happy hustling.