When I started my career, relationships weren’t something I thought about strategically, they just… happened for whatever reason by nature.
I came up through small retailers because college and afterward worked in micro-startups. These were all tight teams and family-style environments with a “figure it out together” mindset. Places where I didn’t need a playbook for building relationships because we were shoulder-to-shoulder with the same people day-in and day-out. I learned everyone’s name, strengths, covered each other’s gaps, and built trust organically.
The irony? Most of those companies don’t exist in the same form anymore.
When I transitioned into larger, more structured corporate environments, I realized pretty quickly that what came naturally in small organizations needed to be purposeful in bigger ones.
That was my gap and I had to learn it later than most.
Relationships Don’t Scale Automatically
In smaller businesses, relationships are built through proximity and necessity. You’re close to the customer, close to your peers, and often close to ownership. There’s no escaping interaction, and because of that, relationships tend to form organically.
But in the corporate world, everything scales… except relationships.
There are more teams, more layers, more processes, and more distance between people. One can go days, weeks, or even longer without interacting with another particular individuals who might have a direct impact on their success. And if one doesn’t make the effort, those connections simply don’t happen.
That was a hard lesson for me, as I had grown up in environments where relationships were a byproduct of doing the job. In the corporate world, I learned they’re part of the job.
The Shift: From Natural to Intentional
One of the biggest adjustments I had to make was moving from organic relationship-building to intentional connection-building.
That meant:
- Requesting project point of contacts (POC) from those my team
- Reaching out to a POC before I needed something
- Following up on assignments even when there wasn’t a deadline
- Asking questions instead of assuming alignment
- Creating clarity in expectations instead of relying on “it’ll work itself out”
That last one hit me the hardest.
Back during my senior project at CSUSM, I learned what happens when one relies too heavily on others without building a strong backup plan. We aligned on timelines, communicated clearly, and still got stuck because assumptions of shared urgency weren’t actually there.
That experience stuck with me.
It taught me that relationships aren’t just about being friendly, they’re about understanding how others operate, what they prioritize, and how they communicate.
Trust Is Built in the Small Moments
In my earlier roles, especially in consumer electronics, I saw firsthand how trust could make or break success. Customers didn’t come back because of the product. They came back because they trusted the person helping them.
The same thing applies in the corporate world.
Trust isn’t built through big presentations or major wins. It’s built through:
- Responding when you say you will
- Following through on commitments
- Being clear when something might slip
- Showing that someone else’s work matters as much as your own
That last point became a personal standard for me. I never want someone to say, “I’m waiting on Greg.” That mindset came directly from hard lessons where delays, mine or others’, created ripple effects I didn’t want to repeat.
Mentorship and Advocacy Matter More Than Ever
Another thing I didn’t fully appreciate early on was the impact of mentors and advocates. In smaller environments, mentorship often comes built-in. When one is working closely with leaders every day, learning through constant interaction. In larger organizations, one has to seek that connection and guidance out.
Looking back, some of the most influential moments in my career came from people who:
- Gave me an opportunity before I thought I was ready
- Supported my growth behind the scenes
- Trusted me enough to take on bigger challenges
- Understood that I was capable and willing to get “it” done
Those relationships didn’t just help me grow, they shaped how I lead and how I show up for others. I learned that relationships aren’t just about what you get as much as they’re about what you give.
- Sharing knowledge openly
- Helping others succeed without expectation
- Being the person who makes the team better
That mindset was reinforced time and time again through the people I worked with across my career.
Alignment Beats Assumption
If there’s one relationship lesson that directly translates into successes in the corporate world, that is the following.
- Alignment beats assumption, every time.
In smaller companies, alignment happens quickly because communication is frequent and informal. In corporate environments, misalignment can hide behind emails, meetings, newsletters, documentation, process, policy, and layers of approval.
That’s why I’ve adopted a few habits:
- Confirm understanding, not just agreement
- Ask, “What does success look like for you?”
- Clarify timelines and dependencies upfront
- Build in contingency for when things don’t go as planned
This ties back to my broader leadership mindset, starting with the end in mind. When everyone understands the outcome, the path becomes clearer and decisions get sharper.
My Advice (If You’re Learning This Late Like I Did)
If you started in small companies like I did, and you’re now navigating a larger corporate matrix, here’s what I’d tell you.
- Don’t wait for relationships to happen by happenstance, create them actively.
Reach out, connect, and stay engaged even when you don’t immediately need something. Treat communication as part of the deliverable in a project, as a professional. This is not extra work, it is the core work that we are responsible for.
- Build trust through consistency, not intensity
- Small, reliable actions beat big, occasional efforts
- Understand people, not just processes
Every system has a human behind it and that’s where success really comes from. Protect your reputation like it’s your most valuable asset, because it is, through relationships.
Closing Thoughts
Looking back, I didn’t start my career thinking relationships would be one of the most important skills I’d ever develop. I thought it was about products, performance, and results. That said, over time, I realized something much more important:
- The products change
- The companies change
- Even the industries change
- Relationships are the only thing that compound over time
Once I learned how to build them intentionally, everything else started to move a little easier.