Relational Leadership vs. Transactional Management: Build Trust & Multiply Your Impact

Halfway through summer and already feeling the rush of back-to-school and end-of-year deadlines? In this episode of the H₂ Leader Summer Series, Alan Briggs and Jonathan Collier challenge the “grind-only” mentality by uncovering the power of relational leadership over mere transactions. You’ll learn:

• The difference between transactional (BNI-style) and relational (Coharbor-style) approaches

• How a high-trust culture drives better engagement, retention, and results

• The 3 Cs every leader needs—Curiosity, Care, and Consistency—and how to practice them

• Real-world signs your organization is drifting into “just manage” mode

• Reflection questions to help you shift from “What can they do for me?” to “How can I serve them?”

Whether you lead a small team or a global enterprise, you’ll come away equipped to strengthen trust, spark engagement, and multiply your impact—one authentic connection at a time.

Show Notes

1. Welcome & Summer Check-in

   • Mid-summer realities: schools shopping in July, transactional everywhere

   • Why relational leadership matters now

2. Two Networking Models

   • Transactional: “Get leads, hit quotas” (BNI-style)

   • Relational: “Get to know the person first” (Coharbor-style)

3. Why Trust Trumps Transactions

   • As goes the leader, so goes the culture

   • Real-life boardroom example: cold, closed vs. warm, open

4. Signals of Low-Trust vs. High-Trust Cultures

   • Do people feel safe to speak up?

   • Are values just on the wall, or lived daily?

   • Celebration vs. checkbox mentality

5. The 3 Cs of Relational Leadership

   1. Curiosity: Ask what’s really on people’s minds

   2. Care: Show genuine concern for the human, not just the role

   3. Consistency: Do your values and words match your actions—every day

6. Practical Steps to Shift

   • Check your own inbox: person or task?

   • Communicate context + clarity + candor

   • Use “three strikes” principle: when a tool or process fails repeatedly, pick up the phone

7. Reflection Questions

   • How relational is my current leadership?

   • Where am I defaulting to transactions over relationships?

   • Who needs more of my presence (not just my direction)?

Resources & Links

• Anti-Burnout ⇒ https://a.co/d/89z1Vrr

• The Sabbatical Journey ⇒ https://a.co/d/i5dXSLS

How to Subscribe & Review

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1. Subscribe to “Stay Forth Leadership” on Apple Podcasts

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3. Share with a friend or colleague who’s ready to lead from relationship, not just transaction