Connection, First

I’ve been struggling with a few things recently.

Two different scenarios in my life led me to a total “AHA” moment. Peek into my brain for a little bit in the following “snippets” of my life.

Snippet 1:

In a recent podcast episode with my friend Lea from Arq Design Studio, I told her that I’d been feeling like I was stumbling around in the dark when it came to leadership. Even though I’ve read books on how to perfectly lead and develop a team, I’m currently figuring out what I want my company culture to look like and how I want to show up as a leader.

Snippet 2:

The same is SO true with parenting. I read ALL the books and combed through all the Facebook groups I could, but nothing would ever prepare me for the ball of energy that is my (now) three-year-old son Ryder. Every year SO different from the last, it felt like I was traveling across unknown terrain with new challenges to fight through (and new breakthroughs) at every level.

But I feel like I’ve turned a corner in both of these areas: leadership in my business, and parenting my son.

And it all boils down to a simple philosophy:

Connection, first.

When I don’t know where to turn or what move to make, connection is almost ALWAYS the best first step to take. As Dr. Becky Kennedy, author of my favorite parenting book Good Inside, writes: “Enter their world.”

When Ryder is having a hard time, I do my best to enter his world. Ask about his experience. Join him in his feelings. From that place of connection, I can make requests, bridge the gap between his experience and my reality, and forge an even deeper relationship.

I’ve shifted my Monday morning standup meeting from a recitation of upcoming priorities to a connection-based time where my designer Lauren can ask questions and we can chat through roadblocks (s/o to Lea for that advice!) Our weeks are now starting with connection, which feels amazing and makes us a more solid team.

Here’s how this philosophy manifests elsewhere in my life:

• Hello June’s marketing philosophy has always been: “Make friends first.” We organically engage via social media out of true connection without any expectation of making sales, which strengthens our network and literally creates new visibility opportunities as well as new leads. Connection, first.
• When a client provides confusing feedback, I “enter their world” by setting up a quick call to understand the way they experienced a design and how we can adjust it to be even better. Connection, first.
• We’re about to move to a new city, and I’m connecting with people on social media to set up coffee chats purely because I love meeting new people and want to start off my new life with, you guessed it, connection, first.

And, in church this past Sunday, it hit me: this is what Jesus did. He literally entered our world as a human being, connected with us first, and then completed his work on Earth, dying for our sins. The son of God practiced this philosophy thousands of years ago.

Yeah, my mind is blown too 🤯.

Where in your life or business do you want to practice more “connection, first?”