My Guest
Today I’m joined by Dr. Jennifer Musselman, a globally-recognized Marriage and Family Therapist and Executive Coach for high-performing executives and entrepreneurs. Dr. Musselman’s clinical work focuses on the interplay of work, life, self-identity and marriage, including the common stressors that impact performance and relationship satisfaction for entrepreneurs and other business leaders.
Dr. Musselman earned her Masters in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University, and her Ph.D. from USC.
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The Entrepreneur and the Spousal Relationship: Part 2 – In The Trenches
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Link to Part 1
In February of 2022, I wrote a blog post that attempted to shine a light on the role that spouses play in the entrepreneurial journey from the perspective of both the spouse and the entrepreneur. I did this by discussing my own experiences, as well as presenting the results of two anonymous surveys, one of which was sent to a group of entrepreneurs and CEOs, and one of which was sent to their spouses.
Questions Asked
Introductory Questions
- Tell us more about your practice as a marriage and family therapist, with a primary focus on couples featuring at least one executive and/or entrepreneur
Typical Challenges to the Spousal Relationship
- What are some relationship challenges that appear to be unique to the spousal relationship in which one of the spouses is an entrepreneur or CEO?
- Our spouses seem to regularly get the worst of us once we return home at the end of a stressful day. Is there any way for us to avoid this, understandable as it may be?
- Talk about the difference between agreements and expectations, and how this difference is often the source of interpersonal conflict between partners
- Is “compartmentalization” between work and home even possible? Is it indeed the ideal to which we should all be striving?
- What would you say to those CEOs who attempt to “shield” or protect their partners from their day-to-day stressors? Is this a net-positive or a net-negative?
- To what extent should the spouse be the emotional outlet?
- Talk to us about the idea of guilt, which is often felt by those who feel like they’re not being the spouse they know they’d otherwise want to be
- What do you say to entrepreneurs who aren’t living in accordance with their personal core values?
- How can spouses balance being supportive while also being careful not to make too many personal & career sacrifices, which can often lead to resentment over time?
- What are some very tactical routines, strategies or practices that couples can do to improve or maintain the health of their relationship?
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