There is a simple but profound difference between the two, and it lives in a single preposition.

When you hire someone to work for you, the transaction is clear and precise. Paint the room. Clean the pool. Wash the car. You negotiate a price for the work. You agree on expectations and track the results. Start time. Finish time. Receipt for materials. Invoice for labor. It is business done properly, and there is nothing wrong with that. Accountability is the currency. The relationship is defined by delivery. The contractor finishes the job, hands you the invoice, and drives away. Done.

But something shifts when you work with someone.

Almost every “with” relationship begins as a “for” relationship. That is worth remembering. There is a crossing-over moment — a quiet threshold where the transaction stops feeling like a transaction. Maybe they flagged a problem you hadn’t noticed. Maybe they stayed late without being asked. Maybe they simply told you the truth when it would have been easier not to. And suddenly you realize — this person called the next day just to ask how things went. The ledger disappeared without you noticing.

That is the shift. And once it happens, everything changes.

Trust has replaced the need to monitor every detail. You are no longer watching the clock. You are watching the outcome together. The work belongs to both of you. The wins are shared. So are the setbacks. There is no scorecard because you are on the same team.

“With” implies belief. It says: I trust your judgment. I trust your effort. I trust that when you tell me something, it is true. That kind of trust is not negotiated into a contract. It is built slowly, through consistency, through honesty, through showing up the same way every single time. No lies. No hidden agenda.

Because you can always hire someone to do a job.

Finding someone you can genuinely work with? That is something rarer and far more valuable.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

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This matters too – Trust vs. Counting On.

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