A friend asked me, “Who do you know in Dunedin, Florida?” after I told her I was moving there.
“No one,” I said.
Then we both laughed.
I agreed with her, that it seemed like an odd choice, for my husband and me, given we had zero personal connections there. What’s also funny is neither one of us even considered that an obstacle. Subconsciously, we were confident in our ability to meet new people and make friends.
My Dog Walking Group: A New Adventure
My favorite new activity is to join the 7:30 a.m. daily dogwalkers in my new neighborhood. When my next-door neighbors told me about the merry band that meets right around the corner from our place to walk their dogs, I explained that I didn’t have a dog.
They said that didn’t matter, and it hasn’t. I join them each week on Wednesday. I love it. Everyone is friendly and they don’t tire of my questions or when I ask them their names again.
My First Blue Grass Music Jam: Different Points of View
I love getting to know people who have experienced things I haven’t. I have found that each person has something extraordinary to share, and it’s my job to find out what it is.
When I do, I am rewarded with seeing a different view of something. Whether it be why you’d want to swim with sharks, spend the summer in North Carolina, or inspire high school students to seek a career in the trades. It’s fun to learn their stories and share mine.
As a change management consultant, I am constantly meeting new people and working hard to understand their points of view so I can help them understand each other. I work with leaders charged with implementing massive transformations like putting businesses together, changing their systems and how they operate.
These transformations are hard and can easily fail because they require people to work together (often times with people they have little or no history with) to do something they have never done before.
The best change leaders understand this. They know building relationships is part of their job that they need to master.
You do too.
I encourage you to work on:
- Being comfortable approaching others you don’t know
- Being approachable to others that you are working on getting to know better
Do this:
- Talk to strangers when you are out and about this week. Simply, look them in the eye, smile and say, “Good morning” or “How about this weather?” Then watch the corners of their mouth go up, as they smile back and show you that they appreciate your seeing them and sharing your warmth.
- Ping a junior member of your team or stop by their desk, just to say hello and let them know you appreciate them and hope they have a great day.
Change Leaders and Early Career Employees
Be a leader who pushes others to meet new people, open their minds to other points of view, and build relationships. Read Get Gen Z into the Game. It's your playbook for winning with young talent.
Key Points
Curiosity is a leadership superpower — every conversation holds the potential to build connection and trust.
Great leaders collect stories, not data — it’s how they find meaning, bridge differences, and make people feel known.