The Spooky Relationship Truth that Scares Your Bottom Line
Oct 26, 2025
Have you ever worked on a team where people knew each other's project deliverables better than their life aspirations?
Were you part of a "high-performing" group that accomplished tasks efficiently but felt emotionally disconnected and replaceable?
Welcome to the spooky relationship truth that masquerades as professional efficiency while secretly destroying the human connections that drive innovation, loyalty, and exceptional performance. This truth scares your bottom line into hiding.
Here’s the relationship truth: We are experts at working together and amateurs at caring about each other.
The Connection Crisis that Costs Everything
Think about how deeply relationship poverty infiltrates our work cultures:
- We know people's skills better than their stories.
- We track their productivity while ignoring their purpose.
- We manage their output without understanding their outcomes.
- We evaluate their contributions without exploring their aspirations.
This focus on transactional efficiency over relational depth dates back to industrial models where workers were interchangeable parts. Today's workforce demands a culture that encourages human connection, collaboration, and authentic engagement that only emerges from relationships that matter.
Shift from Transactions to Transformations
The traditional approach to team dynamics said: "Keep it professional and focus on work."
Relationships that matter say: "Connect people to their purpose and each other for extraordinary results."
Research shows that employees with a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged and teams with strong relationships consistently outperform task-focused groups. As Steve Browne from LaRosa's Pizzeria told me on our Work Positive Podcast, "I think all people want to know that they're seen, heard, and valued."
Connection as Competitive Advantage
What do relationships that matter look like in practice? As Heather Andrade Neumann demonstrated at Golden 1 Credit Union through "two-way communication," it's a culture approach where "you really need cross-pollination and input from across the organization."
In a relationship-focused culture:
- People share personal aspirations alongside professional goals.
- Managers understand how life circumstances impact work performance.
- Teams support each other's success, not just their own projects.
- Leaders remember personal details and follow up on things that matter to people.
Organizations prioritizing relationships that matter see 12% increase in productivity, 27% reduction in turnover, and 35% increase in innovation through trust-based idea sharing.
Eliminate "Relationship Scaries" from Your Culture
One of the most damaging elements in professional culture are relationship scaries, the behaviors that prioritize efficiency over humanity:
- "Let's keep personal stuff out of work discussions."
- "We don't have time for relationship building. We have deadlines."
- "I don't need to know about their personal life to manage their performance."
Instead, respond as if relationships matter. When someone shares something personal, respond with genuine interest: "Tell me more about that. How can I better support you in both areas?"
Your Relationships Matter Challenge
Try these three relationships matter actions this week:
- Schedule Connection Time: Spend the first five minutes of every meeting asking about people as humans, not just performers.
- Share Your Own Story: Tell your team something authentic about your own aspirations or challenges outside of work tasks.
- Create One Support System: Identify one way your team can better support each other's success beyond project completion.
The Work Positive Bottom Line
The best teams today do more than just work together efficiently. They care about each other authentically.
Stop managing connections. Start building relationships that matter.
As you grow people, you grow your profits, too.
What's your question about building effective listening loops in your organization? Ask Dr. Joey here.
Taken from Dr. Joey's newest book, Becoming @ Work: How to T.H.R.I.V.E. in Today's Culture.
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