Why Relationships Are a Leader’s Most Valuable Asset

The Network Effect

Peter Comrie Publisher WBN News – Okanagan and WBN News – Winnipeg
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When we think about leadership, we often focus on traits like vision, resilience, decisiveness, or innovation. But there’s a powerful force behind the scenes of every great leader, often invisible, often uncelebrated, that shapes everything they do. That force is their network.

Networks are not just collections of contacts. They are living ecosystems of support, insight, accountability, opportunity, and growth. And in an age where speed, complexity, and uncertainty rule the day, they may be the single most strategic advantage a leader can cultivate.

Your Network Multiplies Everything You Bring

Great networks don’t make you someone you’re not, they amplify who you already are. A curious mind becomes wiser through conversation. A clear vision becomes more achievable with the right allies. A challenge becomes more solvable with a spectrum of perspectives. A good idea spreads faster, evolves faster, and lands with more impact when it’s carried through trusted relationships.

Leadership is not a solo pursuit. It never has been. And the myth of the lone genius or self-made success is just that, a myth. Behind every meaningful achievement is a web of collaborators, mentors, challengers, encouragers, and door-openers.

Networks as Force Multipliers

In the military, there’s a term called “force multiplier”, something that dramatically increases the effectiveness of a unit or mission. Networks are the leadership version of that term. They multiply your learning, your reach, your speed, and your resilience.

Want to navigate a crisis? Call on your network. Need to test an idea? Share it with your network. Feeling uncertain or isolated? Lean into your network.

Time and again, it’s not just what we know or what we’ve done, it’s who we’ve built trust with that makes the difference.

Build Before You Need It

One of the most overlooked truths about networks is this: they must be built before they’re needed. You can’t start building a bridge in the middle of a flood. The leaders who benefit most from their networks are the ones who have invested in them steadily, quietly, and generously over time.

They ask questions. They check in. They help. They celebrate others’ wins and offer help before it’s asked for. And when the day comes that they need support, it’s there. Not out of obligation, but out of relationship.

A Call to Intentional Connection

As we move through this series, I want to encourage something simple but powerful: take inventory of your current network. Who challenges you? Who believes in you? Who brings you energy and insight? Who do you learn from? Who might you reconnect with?

And perhaps more importantly, whose network are you a part of?

Because networks aren’t about climbing, they’re about circulating. About giving as much as receiving. About showing up for others in ways that matter.

In Part 2, we’ll explore how to move beyond surface-level interactions and build relationships that truly matter.

Until then, remember this:

Your network won’t make you a leader. But it will shape the kind of leader you become.

My best to you,

~peter~

Let’s Keep Talking!

Peter Comrie
Co-Founder and Human Capital Specialist at Full Spectrum Leadership Inc.
Reach out to me at peter@fullspectrumleadership.com

Or connect with me here to book a call!

Reach me on Linkedin; https://www.linkedin.com/in/petercomrie/

We can also chat on Bluesky: @petercomrie.bsky.social           

Tags: leadership, personal networks, trust, connection, influence, relationships, executive coaching, leadership development, legacy, resilience, mentoring, communication, community building