Last year a friend of mine was forced to attend a Company event with her husband; what a nightmare! She whined and complained all night about “not having anything in common with these people” and wanting to leave, and she refused to mingle with the other partner’s wives. In the end she and her husband got into a nasty argument that was witnessed by the Managing Director and half of the staff. What an embarrassment not to mention poor reflection on her husband. Needless to say my friend got her wish; she was excluded from all future company events.
Take my advise, If you wish to be a rising star in your organization or see the corner office in your future think twice before you invite your spouse or significant other to accompany you to any business events; he or she could be more of a liability than you realize. I heard a story just the other day of a boyfriend who got drunk at a client dinner and “cursed out” his girlfriend’s boss because “ya’ll have her doing all the work, and ya’ll wouldn’t even pay her a decent salary!” What was he thinking? Not only was the client embarrassed, but his girlfriend lost the account.
I’ll say it again “loose lips sink ships” and needless to say a poor refection on your guest is a poor reflection on you.
Remember this, even without the drama, it is still not always a good idea to include your spouse or significant other in company sponsored events especially if:
• Your spouse or significant other has failed to “keep up” or is not on the same intellectual level as your colleagues and you cannot trust what might come out of his/her mouth
• Spouse or significant other image is an embarrassment
• The presence of your spouse or partner may interfere with any confidential business discussions
• Your associates may feel uncomfortable because your spouse or significant other cannot be included in most of the discussion
• Your spouse/significant other lacks maturity and may resent feeling ignored (after all it is a business event)
• You cannot concentrate on the matters at hand because you are too busy trying to baby-sit your spouse/significant other.
I know it sounds cold, but like they say “business is business” and the reality is, if you are not prepared to groom/coach your spouse or significant other before the event, he/she can become a liability to your career. So like the songwriter says “THINK TWICE” before you extend the invite.
