As students and families navigate the maze of college admissions, one question stands out among all others: “Who is your person?” It’s a simple but profound inquiry that asks prospective students to identify the individual on a campus who sees them, supports them, and contributes to their success. This question reveals a deeper principle: relationships are the heart of human development and success. But the insight transcends college tours and admissions conversations – it holds a powerful lesson for leadership in every sector.
In organizations, teams perform best when individuals feel seen, valued, and supported. Leaders who intentionally cultivate meaningful connections with their people help unlock potential, strengthen commitment, and create cultures of trust and engagement. The following article explores how the concept of “your person” translates into effective leadership, why relationships matter in the workplace, and how leaders can build environments where connection and performance reinforce one another.
Why Relationships Matter in Leadership
Many leadership development programs focus on strategy, metrics, and execution. While those aspects are essential, they often overlook the foundational role of relationships. Just as college students thrive when they can name a trusted mentor on campus, employees and team members are more likely to feel motivated and engaged when they can point to leaders or peers who genuinely support them.
Research bears this out. Effective leaders understand that human connection contributes to psychological safety – the belief that one can take risks, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences. When leaders cultivate environments where people feel acknowledged and safe, creativity flourishes, collaboration deepens, and performance improves.
At its core, leadership is not just about telling people what to do; it’s about helping them know they matter in the organization’s mission. People bring their best work when they believe that their contributions are not only noticed but appreciated and meaningful.
The Role of Mentorship in Leadership Growth
One of the striking findings from conversations with students and faculty on college campuses is how often individuals referenced specific adults who made a difference in their experience. Professors who invited students to conferences, staff who knew them by name, advisors who believed in their potential. These figures were often described as life-changing.
In the workplace, effective leaders act similarly. They serve as mentors who:
- Encourage employees to stretch beyond their comfort zones
- Champion development opportunities
- Provide thoughtful and ongoing feedback
- Create space for professional exploration and growth
Mentorship is not a bonus; it’s a strategic element of leadership. When leaders intentionally invest time in understanding their people, not just their output but their aspirations and challenges, they build a foundation of trust that catalyzes long-term performance. High performers often cite having at least one mentor as a key predictor of career satisfaction and advancement. Those who embody this relational approach contribute to retention, engagement, and a high-performing culture.
Listening With Intent
When prospective students are encouraged to ask open-ended questions about meaningful connections on campus, they are learning a crucial principle: stories reveal more than statistics. Similarly, leaders who ask thoughtful, open questions and truly listen gain insights that go far beyond surface judgments.
Listening with intent means pausing, asking follow-up questions, and resisting the urge to immediately fix a problem or offer solutions. It’s about understanding context, emotions, motivations, and aspirations. Leaders who inactively listen gather valuable information that helps them:
- Anticipate challenges
- Recognize unspoken needs
- Build empathy
- Respond with tailored solutions instead of generic answers
Cultivating this ability is central to leadership because it signals respect and fosters psychological safety. When team members feel heard, they’re more likely to contribute ideas, solve problems collaboratively, and stay committed to shared goals.
Creating Spaces Where People Feel Known
Just as small class sizes or advising structures on a college campus can make it easier for students to be known and supported, organizations should strive to create structures that enable personal connection. This doesn’t mean leaders must know every detail of every employee’s life; rather, it means creating channels where meaningful human interaction can occur.
Leadership strategies that foster connection emphasize consistent, intentional engagement across an organization. Regular one-on-one meetings that focus on professional growth and personal well-being help leaders understand individual needs and aspirations, while mentorship programs that pair experienced professionals with emerging leaders encourage knowledge sharing and long-term development.
Cross-team collaboration further strengthens connection by expanding employees’ networks and breaking down silos, allowing ideas and relationships to grow beyond immediate roles. Community-building events reinforce a shared sense of purpose, and recognition practices that celebrate both effort and outcomes help individuals feel seen and valued.
Together, these approaches reflect the same principles emphasized by college leaders who prioritize meaningful adult relationships even within large institutions, recognizing that people perform and thrive best when they feel connected rather than isolated.
The Link Between Connection and Organizational Performance
Meaningful relationships matter not just for individual satisfaction but for organizational effectiveness. Gallup research consistently demonstrates that employees who have a best friend at work are more engaged, productive, and loyal. While “best friend” may sound casual, the underlying concept is that people need trusted colleagues and champions within their professional communities. Leaders who facilitate these connections often see measurable improvements in morale, creativity, and performance.
Connection can also become a powerful competitive advantage in leadership. High-trust cultures are more likely to attract top talent, retain employees through periods of structural change or uncertainty, and encourage open knowledge sharing across teams. These environments naturally foster innovation and adaptability because individuals feel safe contributing ideas and taking thoughtful risks. In contrast, when people feel isolated or undervalued, even the most sophisticated strategies often fall short, as the psychological foundation required for collaboration, engagement, and sustained performance is weakened.
The Power of Leadership Presence
One of the consistent themes emerging from educational contexts is that relationships deepen when leaders show up, not just in formal roles but in authentic presence. On college campuses, this might mean faculty who engage with students beyond the lecture hall. In businesses, it means leaders who:
- Attend team events without an agenda
- Share personal insights and vulnerabilities
- Acknowledge accomplishments publicly
- Make time for meaningful interactions, even when schedules are packed
Authentic presence signals commitment to people, not just tasks. It creates an environment where individuals feel safe to ask questions, propose bold ideas, and take initiative, all of which are hallmarks of strong organizational leadership.
Leading Through Curiosity and Courage
Leadership is not passive. It requires curiosity to understand others’ experiences and courage to act compassionately even when decisions are difficult. Senior leaders often face pressures that can distance them from frontline experience. Yet leaders who prioritize connection build resilience in themselves and their teams.
Curiosity drives leaders to ask questions such as:
- Who feels supported on this team, and who doesn’t?
- What barriers are people facing that aren’t obvious?
- Which connections can we strengthen to elevate performance?
Courage comes when leaders take action based on what they learn, reallocating resources, shifting roles, or creating new development paths. Together, curiosity and courage transform leadership from transactional management to transformative influence.
Seeing People, Shaping Culture
Leadership is frequently defined in terms of strategy and outcomes, but the heart of leadership is people. The most enduring leaders are those who see people not as resources to optimize but as individuals to invest in. They ask not only “What has been achieved?” but “Who has grown?” and “Who feels known?” These questions are powerful because they reinforce the true purpose of leadership: enabling others to thrive.
Organizational culture is shaped every day through small interactions, consistent behaviors, and the subtle messages leaders send about who matters and how they matter. When leaders prioritize meaningful connection, teams become communities with shared purpose and mutual respect. This doesn’t mean that challenges disappear; it means they are faced collectively, with trust and shared accountability.
Leadership Rooted in Human Connection
In college admissions, asking “Who is your person?” has become a shorthand for identifying environments where students feel supported, seen, and empowered to grow. In leadership, a similar question could be rephrased as “Who knows you?” or “Who feels supported because of you?” These questions guide leaders to reflect on both the relationships they foster and the culture they create.
Connection is not ancillary to leadership, it is foundational. Effective leadership elevates performance not by mandate but through meaningful relationships that create trust, growth, and shared purpose. Leaders who embrace connection, curiosity, and courageous support transform organizations from places where people work into communities where people flourish.
