The Lead Relationally Podcast

Every conversation we have, whether we realize it or not, is put in some sort of frame. Whenever things are being communicated, each person determines what it means for them. As leaders, we want to make sure we’re the ones doing the framing, so that everyone is on the same page.

In this episode, Chris and Brad use the image of a photograph to show why so many team conversations go sideways, and how setting the right frame allows everyone to see themselves clearly in the picture.

Zoom out too far, and your team hears lofty vision talk that has nothing to do with their tasks at hand. Zoom in too close, and a rocket email leaves everyone wondering whether the boss is mad. Along the way, they use a Habitat for Humanity foreman as a picture of middle leadership, and Chris shares how he’s reframing a tense email exchange of his own.

This episode gets practical because it closes the gap between knowing good leadership and actually doing it. The guys share simple, usable ways to set up your next team meeting or one-on-one so people can be inspired and encouraged by what they see in the frame. You’ll hear how to invite input without manipulating, why a time limit can be a kindness to quieter team members, and how to “park” a tangent without shutting anyone down. If you have a conversation on your calendar this week, you’ll want to press play first.

Key Takeaways:

- Every conversation is already framed. If you don’t set the frame as the leader, everyone else will bring their own, and that’s where misunderstanding and chaos come from.

- Think like a photographer. Vary your zoom. Constant big-vision talk feels out of touch, and constant task-level talk leaves people wondering how their work connects to the team.

- Make sure both people can see themselves in the picture. Agreement comes when your team member sees where they fit, and when they can see that you’re in the frame with them.

- Start with common ground, then name the challenge. Lead with what you both want, give people the benefit of the doubt, and invite them to agree to the conversation before diving into details.

- Frame the edges, too. Share your hopes and a time frame up front, park off-topic issues without shooting them down, and remember you’re allowed to say no when someone wants to reframe the conversation.

See you on the path!

You've done the hard work of looking back, evaluating, and confronting the brutal facts—so now what?

In Part 2 of this course-correction conversation, Chris and Brad turn to the other half of the equation: how to actually cast vision and lead your team forward once the evaluating is done.

They dig into a tension every leader feels—wanting to stay inspired by the "big picture" while your team just needs help getting over the next hill—and offer a refreshingly practical answer: meet people where they are, not at the mountaintop.

The conversation gets especially useful when they unpack why a leader's new ideas so often land as confusion instead of inspiration. If you've ever come back from a conference or a good book fired up with new language, only to watch your team's eyes glaze over, this episode explains exactly why that happens—and how to bring people along instead of leaving them to catch up.

From naming a course correction so it doesn't feel like a brand-new direction, to picking a future celebration point that keeps everyone motivated along the way, this episode is full of tools for leading through change without leaving your team behind.

Key Takeaways:

- A course correction should always connect back to the original path—if you can't explain how a new direction reconnects to where you were already headed, your team will wonder if you've abandoned the plan altogether.

- Meet your team at the next ledge, not the mountaintop: constantly pointing to the "big vision" can overwhelm and frustrate people who just need help with what's in front of them right now.

- Don't make your team do the mental work in real time: leaders who've spent weeks processing a new idea need to slow down and explain the "why" clearly, rather than expecting instant buy-in.

- Change management is trickier than crisis management because the "why" isn't always obvious—tying a course correction back to what your team shared in a review builds trust and shared ownership.

- Name your destination ahead of time: pointing to a future celebration moment (a holiday party, a 90-day milestone, a monthly lunch) gives your team something to aim for and makes the journey feel shared, not solitary.

See you on the path!

Every leader wants to paint a bright, forward-looking vision for their team—but what happens when reality keeps pulling everyone off course?

In this episode, Chris and Brad tackle the tension every leader feels between optimism and honesty: the pull to charge ahead into an exciting future while problems, mistakes, and unresolved issues quietly drag the team backward.

The guys unpack why "course correction" only works when it's treated as a two-part process. First, confronting the brutal facts and dealing with the problems, and then setting a vision for a pathway forward.

Drawing on real leadership experience, the hosts explore how to create space for honest team evaluation without getting stuck in negativity, how tools like surveys and year-end reviews have their stregths and weaknesses, and why a leader's willingness to own their own shortcomings is the single biggest factor in building trust.

Whether you're heading into a year-end review, a team retreat, or just sensing unspoken tension on your team, this conversation offers a practical, relational framework for turning problems into challenges your whole team can tackle together.

Key Takeaways:

- Course correction is a two-part process: teams need real time to look back and evaluate before they can meaningfully look forward—skipping or rushing the "reality" phase breeds cynicism and distrust.

- Reframe problems as challenges: shifting language from "this is a problem we're stuck with" to "this is a challenge we're going to solve together" turns ownership into shared, forward-moving action.

- Leaders must go first: openly owning mistakes and shortcomings—not just team failures—is what earns the trust needed for honest feedback to flow both ways.

- Use structured tools thoughtfully: surveys, year-end reviews, and off-sites give people time to process their feedback and prevent conversations from becoming emotional ambushes.

- Set ground rules for hard conversations: naming that "we're going to fight fair" and solve problems as a team—rather than putting it all on the leader—keeps tough feedback constructive instead of destructive.

See you on the path!

This is the final stop in the 7 C's of Relationships series, and Chris and Brad saved one of the deepest ones for last: Calling.

The Definition of Calling (as stated in the episode):

"A calling refers to a strong inner urge, passion, or sense of purpose towards a particular career, vocation, or life path. It can transform our normal work into a meaningful mission where you feel uniquely equipped to make an impact on the world."

What happens when you look past someone's job title and ask, "What are they actually here to do?" That's the question at the heart of this episode, as the guys unpack why a shared sense of calling can create an unshakeable bond between people, even when everything else about their lives looks completely different.

Referring to real (if slightly renamed) people from their own lives, Chris and Brad walk through what it looks like to recognize a "kindred spirit," why calling has almost nothing to do with your career, and how leaders can use this lens to understand their teams on a whole new level.

It's a fitting, reflective close to the series, and one that will leave you thinking about the level of connection you have with certain people in your life.

Key Takeaways:

- Calling isn't a career or a job. It's a deep inner sense of purpose and identity that should show up in any role you play. You can't confuse "what you do" with "who you are."

- Understanding your own calling takes years of paying attention to what resonates and what doesn't. The mystery is often revealed in who we find ourselves being drawn to and what strikes us about their passions, even if your paths look nothing alike.

- Sharing a calling with someone doesn't mean they have to be exactly the same, but they have to be similar enough to be understood and appreciated. The people we share a calling with often become kindred spirits. These relationships tend to reveal themselves over time as that appreciation is mutually shared.

- Leaders need to be curious about the callings of those on their team. We learn and appreciate what drives our people as we understand what they would bring with them to any job, not just their current one.

Let's go for a walk!

Communication might be the most talked-about leadership skill out there, and most of us assume we're doing it well. After all, we're leaders, so we're doing something right.

But in this episode of the 7 C's of Relationships series, Chris and Brad push our leadership further and challenge some of the big assumptions we all make.

Saying, "But I told them..." is never as good as being able to say, "They understood me." The best leaders measure communication not by what they said, but by what actually landed.

From the tone of an email to group chat culture to the timing of a Friday-afternoon message, the guys unpack the small, often-overlooked choices that quietly shape how connected — or disconnected — a team really feels.

But this isn't about streamlining communication systems. It's about understanding the healthy culture of interaction that emerges from high-trust relationships. Real communication isn't mechanical at all; it's deeply human, and the proof is in the humour ;)

Whether you're managing a team of three or thirty, this episode offers a practical, relatable framework for turning communication from a checkbox into a genuine leadership advantage.

Key Takeaways:

- Communication isn't what you said — it's what the other person heard. We may not like it, but those are the rules!

- Clarity and quality aren't the same thing. Quality is about whether your message actually connects with the specific person receiving it, not just whether it's well-written.

- Timeliness and rhythm matter more than volume. Predictable, well-paced communication builds more trust than constant, scattered messaging ever will.

- Humour is a trust signal, not a distraction. When leaders can laugh at themselves first, it creates safety for the whole team — but it only works where trust truly exists.

- Your team isn't a single-celled organism. Real connection happens person by person, and team culture changes one relationship at a time.

Let's talk it out!

Have you ever clicked instantly with someone and had no idea why?

Or have you felt awkward around a teammate who seems to get along really well with everyone else?

In this episode of the Lead Relationally podcast, Chris and Brad tackle the wildest of the seven C's: Chemistry.

It's not the same thing as having things in common, or seeing the world the same way. It's that "je ne sais quoi" that there's just no accounting for.

Unlike the other "C's" of relationships, Chemistry can't be manufactured, scheduled, or willed into existence — you either have it, or you don't. That reality can be both frustrating and, weirdly, freeing.

Key Takeaways:

- Chemistry is real, but it's not earned: Unlike the other "C's" of relationships, Chemistry simply is or isn't there — you can discover it, but you can't manufacture it.

- Common ground doesn't equal chemistry: You can share tons in common with someone and still lack chemistry, or click instantly with someone who is totally different from you.

- Low chemistry isn't a verdict on you or them: It doesn't mean you're an awkward leader or that the other person is difficult — it just means the "chemical reaction" isn't there.

- Lead with self-awareness and lean on the other six C's to build strong relationships regardless of the "spark."

- Chemistry can give your leadership of someone a real head start, but it can also work against you. It can skew the decision-making process and cause us to overestimate that person's abilities. It can also lead to the perception of playing favourites.

Join the guys for a walk and a conversation!

Conflict has a branding problem.

We hear the word and immediately think "bad," but Chris and Brad are here to make the case that conflict isn't the enemy of a healthy relationship — it's actually proof that the relationship matters enough to be tested.

In this episode, the guys dig into why conflict is completely unavoidable, and why the leaders who try to dodge it entirely usually end up worse off than the ones who learn to lean in.

Using the metaphor of a runaway train, Chris and Brad walk through what happens when we avoid conflict instead of addressing it early: it doesn't disappear, it picks up speed.

They share how they've each learned (and are still learning) to slow their own trains down, hold the tension a little longer, and approach hard conversations with more humility and curiosity.

If you've ever frozen up before a tough conversation or told yourself "no conflict means we're doing great," this episode will change how you think about it.

Key Takeaways:

- Conflict isn't optional; it's inevitable. Every relationship worth having will eventually be tested. The goal isn't to avoid it; it's to navigate it well.

- Avoided conflict doesn't vanish; it compounds. Like a runaway train, unaddressed tension picks up speed and gets harder to control the longer you wait.

- Low conflict isn't always a good sign. Sometimes it just means the relationship hasn't been tested yet, or issues are being buried instead of resolved.

- Self-awareness is your best tool. Knowing your own tendency (hothead vs. avoider), and the trust level you actually have with the other person determines how you should approach the conversation.

- Navigated well, conflict builds trust. The relationships that last aren't the ones without friction, they're the ones where both people chose to work through it and stayed.

Got commitment issues? So do Chris and Brad! And they're ready to tell all in this episode of the 7 C's of Relationships series.

Commitment is the piece that reveals how much a relationship actually matters to us, and how willing we are to fight for its health.

The real work is figuring out where each relationship should sit on that spectrum, and being honest when it's out of whack.

Commitment can't be faked, and the guys ask some honest questions, like: Am I actually committed to my people, or just to what they can do for me?

Leaders who go first in offering real commitment and can manage the balance of expectations end up building teams that trust them, buy in, and go the extra mile.

Key Takeaways:

- Commitment isn't one-size-fits-all. Healthy relationships exist at every level of the spectrum, from your barista to your spouse. The goal isn't maximum commitment everywhere; it's the right level for each relationship.

- People can't fake commitment for long. Your actions, not your words, are the real measuring stick, and others will eventually see the difference between the two.

- Balance matters even more than the level of commitment. A relationship where both people are equally invested (even at a low level) is healthier than one where commitment is lopsided.

- As a leader, you set the tone. Your team's commitment to each other often mirrors the commitment you're willing to show first.

See you out on the path!

"If it's on the calendar, it gets done! "

That's true, but these are our people we're talking about...

Your calendar isn't just a scheduling tool — it's a double-edged sword that can both prioritize people by being intentional about them, and also diminish them by treating them like a task to be completed.

Our calendars are huge windows into our relationships. Understanding how our people are showing up on them reveals how much we actually prioritize them as people.

In this episode, Chris and Brad take their walk-and-talk into the next installment of the 7 C's of Relationships series, unpacking the messy truth that more time on the calendar doesn't automatically mean a deeper connection.

There's a difference between rigid, transactional scheduling and intentional, relational use of time — including how margin, flexibility, and even spontaneous check-ins communicate care in ways that giving more chunks of time ever could.

Whether you're a natural planner who thrives on structure or someone who bristles at rigid time blocks, this conversation will challenge how you look at those meetings, touch points, and open slots on your calendar.

Top 5 Key Takeaways:

- Your calendar is a measurement tool: how and when someone shows up on it reflects how much you're prioritizing that relationship — whether you mean it to or not.

- More time isn't automatically better. A weekly meeting with your boss might get more hours than a close friend, without the relationship being any deeper.

- Building in margin (not overscheduling every minute) gives you room to extend time when a conversation actually needs it — and that flexibility communicates care.

- Rigid, identical time slots can make people feel like just another task to check off, even when you're genuinely trying to invest in them.

- Small, unscheduled touches — a quick text, a spontaneous call — count as "calendar moments" too, and they balance out purely transactional check-ins.

Plan to take a walk with the guys and call it a date!

What actually makes a relationship tick - and why do some connections fade the moment circumstances change?

In this episode, Brad and Chris kick off their new series on the 7 Components of Relationship with the first "C" - Context.

Whether it's a shared workplace, a carpool, a hockey team, or a life experience like illness or loss, context is the invisible engine powering most of our connections.

And once you understand it, you'll never look at your relationships the same way again.

From the colleague you'd follow to a new city, to the instant bond formed between two strangers who've faced the same hardship, the guys unpack how context works at every level - current, historical, and life-based.

They also get practical: how can leaders intentionally create or shift context to strengthen their teams?

Key Takeaways

- Context is one of 7 measurable components of any relationship - and it works as a powerful accelerant when shared, or a barrier when lost.

- There are three layers of context: current (shared spaces/activities), historical (past shared experiences), and life context (shared life circumstances).

- When context changes, relationships often change with it - and that's not a failure; it's just how human connection works.

- Leaders can intentionally engineer context to increase team connection through simple tweaks like shared lunches, clubs, or cross-department collaboration sessions.

- Context alone doesn't tell the full story of a relationship, but it gives you a huge piece of the puzzle, and it's always a great place to start.

Grab your walking shoes and join the conversation!