Donna was thrilled by her accomplishment. She was developing a new company policy that her colleagues doubted would ever be implemented. Donna was asked to attend the company’s board meeting, and the company president announced they would be adopting Donna’s policy. The room broke out in applause. 

She left work early and was picking up a bottle of wine to celebrate when she decided to call her husband Dave. Dave was in a pickle at work. He was working arduously on finishing a project that had a 6 pm deadline. It was for his biggest client and he was struggling to get it right. 

When Donna called, he was in the middle of meeting with two of his colleagues about the project but intuited he needed to take Donna’s call. He was feeling pressure meeting his deadline but knew he couldn’t brush her off. He waved off his colleagues, and let Donna share her experience. This was one of her greatest professional accomplishments, and he was aware he needed to listen to her. Despite his professional stress, he could be there for her.