10 | If You Lean More Relational

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Welcome back. Today I'm talking specifically to my relationship-driven leaders.

First thing I want you to know: this is not something broken in you. This is something wired in you for good and on purpose.

You Might Be More Relational If . . .

You naturally start conversations with "How are you really doing?" You remember personal details about your team members' lives—like, you actually care about how their kid's soccer game went last weekend.

You feel energized by team bonding activities and deeper conversations. When you're hiring, you're thinking about cultural fit and personality, not just whether they can do the job. And you measure success through engagement and team satisfaction, not just the numbers on a spreadsheet.

Here's what's beautiful about how you're wired: you create connection, trust, and loyalty. People feel seen, valued, and genuinely cared for when they're around you. That's your superpower.

But Here's the Thing...

Without intentionality, you'll build a team culture that feels like friends hanging out rather than comrades working toward something meaningful together. Don't get me wrong—great relationships are amazing. But unclear direction? That's where things get tricky.

What your team might experience: strong connections, high trust, people who genuinely enjoy being together. But potentially unclear goals or that nagging feeling of "what exactly are we building here?"

The Culture You Naturally Create

You know that team that has lots of connection but unclear direction? Where team members love each other but lack shared purpose? Great culture, but maybe inconsistent results? High engagement but low urgency around actually moving forward?

That's the "friends" zone. And honestly, most teams would love to have your problem. But we're going for something even better.

Your Growth Edge

Your team likely feels like close friends. They trust each other, but they may lack clarity about the bigger picture or feel unclear about priorities. And that's where you get to grow.

How to Build Your Mission Muscle

Here's the thing—you don't need to become someone else. You just need to add some mission clarity to all that relational goodness you're already creating.

In your meetings or family dinners: Take 3 minutes at the beginning to paint the picture of what you're building toward. Link what you're working on today to the bigger picture and why it actually matters.

In your 1-on-1s: Help people connect their individual work to how it serves people outside your team. Make sure everyone knows how they contribute to something bigger than themselves.

In how you communicate: Start celebrating mission-related wins, not just relationship milestones. Tell people the "why" behind decisions. Create clarity around where you're going and what everyone's role is in getting there.

What I want to emphasize here is how mission impacts our relationships outside of work.

When I say team, I’m referring to family, friends, community as well. Our most important relationships can have true camaraderie if we involve a sense of mission alongside the relational connections. We don’t need to feel stalled out in our family relationships or friendships. There can always be a sense of momentum, especially if we involve a sense of purpose or mission.

Next time you're connecting with a friend or family member, start with 5 minutes of vision of some sort. Share what you’re learning, what you’re aiming for, connect what you're both learning and growing in to a bigger purpose outside of yourselves. Mission doesn’t need to be a tactical type of work. It can be as simple as a shared purpose of being better wives and learning and growing in that together. It can be as simple as growing together as healthy leaders and committing together to reading a book together or taking care of yourself in some way so you can show up better for those you lead. The list can go on and on . . . If you need more examples, then click the chat button and reach out and I’ll discuss more about this with you!

But in general watch what happens over time in your family and friendships when you involve a sense of purpose in your language. You'll still have all that beautiful connection you're naturally good at, but now it's connected to something that matters beyond just enjoying each other's company.

You've got the relationship side covered naturally. Now you get to add the mission piece that transforms friends into comrades.

That's what we're going for here.

Okay that’s all for today, I’ll see you soon.