Do Women Understand Teamwork?

[troutsqueezer]

The wife and I were cleaning up the leaves in the yard today.

I had my ATV with trailer parked nearby waiting for me to fill it with leaves using my plastic round-shaped leaf grabbers (those things work well). I can grab a lot at one time and toss them into the trailer. The wifey has control of the lawn rake. Her job is to keep the leaves in a singular pile as I scoop them up, inadvertently scattering some around in the process and leaving a small mess. When the trailer is full I drive the ATV down the hill and dump the leaves out of sight of the main house and return for the next load. My expectation is by the time I return, the wife would have spent that time raking those errant leaves into the main pile so as to further the process but no..... she's over there with the hose spraying the dirt specs off the white picket fence caused by rain splash. The leaves are still spread around willy nilly and I can't scoop them up when they are scattered like that.

"Honey...I thought you were going to pile these leaves up for me so I can scoop them."

"Oh...just a minute!" She finishes up watering the plastic fence (taking her time) and comes back over and begins to rake. I've already blown most of the leaves in the driveway into a huge pile and those are the ones I want her to focus on. Over at the edge of the driveway she suddenly notices one or two leaves that are wedged in between two rocks that line the driveway edge. She stops what she's doing, walks over there and claws at them with the rake. The rake is too big to fit in between the rocks but she keeps trying every angle to grab them. She could reach down and clutch them in her hand but no, she continues to claw with the rake. :confused3: Here I am, as happens whenever my wife and I work together on a yard project be it building a chicken coop or making a new flower bed, waiting for her to come to the realization that we are supposed to be working as a team. It will go much faster if we both monitor and anticipate what the other is doing.

However, I've learned not to say anything because it would do no good and could lead to bickering which I swore as a young man is something I would never do as I got older. But I do stand there and think to myself that this must be a fundamental difference between men and women. My wife is always amazed at how fast two men working together can get something done. Well...that is because men, when working together, naturally think like a team. I think it's in our DNA and hearkens back to when men had to go on the hunt and work as a team to feed the tribe. The women stayed back at the cave, cooking up mammoth casseroles and washing their hair.

Does this theory hold water?

 

[Sumpter]

Arguing does no good. My wife and I can not work together. We figured that out very quickly. We came to the agreement that if it is outside it is mine. Inside is hers. We still spend our time together, but it will be a movie, going for a drive, etc. But never house or yard work. At least i don't have to worry about teaching her to drive the NH.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I have to chuckle a bit as I know exactly what you mean, though in March it will be 5 years for the two of us. Today's chore involved putting a crib together for our daughter do in July, it wasn't a hard project as I have put it together three times now and taken it apart for a move twice. And she had to put in the 'is that right'?

 

[zzvyb6]

So what's for dinner, Trout? Chainsawed road kill with a side of jerky?
Separation of duties is called for here.

BTW: I could never work any project with my wife. But, now with my GF, we think alike, talk alike and work the same way without duplication of effort. While I handle most of the outside chores, she takes care of the inside stuff with adequate consulting going on from both sides.

She's her Dad's girl, knows tools and machinery and clothes, makeup and jewelry. She also knows where NOT to go, if you know what I mean.

I believe its part of the interview process, not a woman thing. Guys: make sure you take a good look at her mother and father when you start thinkin' long term, 'cause that's your fate in 10 - 20 years.

 

[Transit]

Woman do have a different mine set., they will clean the dust as you try to work and be under foot. Worry about a drop of paint as they step back and knock over a paint can.

 

[sodamo]

.... But I do stand there and think to myself that this must be a fundamental difference between men and women. My wife is always amazed at how fast two men, working together can get something done. Well, that is because men, when working together, naturally think like a team. I think it's in our DNA and hearkens back to when men had to go on the hunt and work as a team to feed the tribe. The women stayed back at the cave and cooked up mammoth casseroles and washed their hair. Does this theory hold water?

Brings back some memories...
Back in the day when I was an Army commander of basic training, this was a constant source of amazement. Put 6 guys in a latrine (bathroom) with the task to clean it and they just get it done - usually as quickly as they could. If the guy cleaning sinks finished, he'd jump in and help clean the toilets or whatever. Put 6 women in a latrine, same task, and they spend more time arguing how to clean it as each has the best methods - at best each claims their own area of responsibility and if another's didn't pass inspection, it was the other one's fault. If the girl cleaning sinks finished, well, she was done LOL, let the others do THEIR jobs. Trained over a thousand young ladies and the lack of teamwork was a constant at the beginning of every training cycle. The good news is they did improve over the course of training, but we weren't always sure it was sincere LOL
Chances are, things have improved over time as younger ladies have been raised somewhat differently, being exposed to team sports etc, whereas back like when I was a kid girls usually did things individually.

That said, even after 25+years married, my wife can almost instantly drive me nuts like you described when working together, BUT, in most ways she is still my best workmate.

 

[General Lee]

Arguing does no good. My wife and I can not work together. We figured that out very quickly. We came to the agreement that if it is outside it is mine. Inside is hers. We still spend our time together, but it will be a movie, going for a drive, etc. But never house or yard work. At least i don't have to worry about teaching her to drive the NH.

Well said, Same at my house

 

[wedge40]

I never assume anybody can read my mind when working with them. I ask them nicely what I would like them to help me with next. Everyone's train of thought is different.

Wedge

 

[hr3]

I guess I'm very lucky,, My wife and I can work side by side on yard and house projects all weekend long.. If she wanders from what we are doing I'll switch what she is doing to what I was doing,, Lots of times us guys give the ladies the boring parts of the projects..

Our biggest project every year is getting the firewood done,, We start in Feb. I'll drop the trees and she backs the tractor up,, I hook and she drags and unhooks and pushes the trees into a pile,, Then comes back for more..and no on this job we don't switch out,, When we split the wood I lug the big ones and she splits,, Then she lugs the smaller ones and I split for a while,, after that it's all her,, "she insists" she stacks it on pallets in a windrow and in the fall brings it all into the basement and stacks it again,,.. I love that girl..

 

[WayneB]

HR3 Hey you should be proud and love that woman!

My wife and I work together rather nicely too she had finally taught me how to work with her, only took 35 years!

As for the wood work though she leaves that to me, I cut the trees down haul the logs in, cut them up, split them and stack the wood. In the winter I haul the wood in, load the stove and haul the ashes out...My yob man.