Relationships Are Strategy

For leaders, relationships are not soft skills or nice to haves. They are strategy. They unlock opportunities, build credibility, and accelerate trust in ways that no business plan alone can achieve. Mutual trust is always a goal.

We may feel like we mastered this during the pandemic, navigating Zoom calls, checking in on one another, and building camaraderie in uncertain times. But the environment has changed. In a world of constant disruption, cultivating relationships is not just comforting. It is essential.

Since retiring I’ve helped place three CEOs. What I’ve realized is how the long process of finding a person who is the right fit for an organization dramatizes the importance of relationships. In an organization where leaders have healthy relationships, they are eager to make sure a new hire is a good fit for everyone. So, they take time to align on what that “good fit” looks like before they start the interview process. When leaders get too busy to invest in relationships, they will soon find themselves too busy for anything beyond the emergency du jour.

Consider: Relationships are always relational.

Stay tuned.