Your chair doesn't care. Your team does.
Mar 27, 2026
One of my greatest learnings this week came from a conversation on Sunday morning from Seattle that I almost wasn't prepared for.
My podcast guest, Blaine Bartlett, one of the world's most respected leadership advisors, number one international bestselling author of Compassionate Capitalism, and a man whose work has directly impacted over one million people globally, said something I'm still thinking about.
And it wasn't complicated.
It was obvious. And I had completely missed it.
He said:
You have a relationship with everything.
Your chair. Your desk. Your phone. Your morning routine.
Everything.
He's also this week's guest on the Most People Don't podcast. Link and clip below.
I sat with that for a second. Okay… interesting.
But then he said the part that actually got me:
If you have a relationship with your chair… why wouldn't you invest more in the relationships that can actually feel you?
I never considered that perspective on "relationships". I either like or dislike my chair. It treats me well and is comfortable until the compression leaks and I slowly lower way below what is comfortable for me to type. It reclines which is nice for relaxing, but the lumbar pillow slips down. My relationship is complicated with my chair.
Most of us are better at maintaining things than we are at nurturing people.
We adjust our chair when it's uncomfortable. We upgrade our phone when it slows down. We fix what's broken.
But when it comes to the people around us?
We get busy. We get distracted. We assume things are fine.
And that's where things start to drift (as shared by Blaine).
Blaine talked about how leadership and life is a relationship sport. Not just with people, but with purpose, direction, and even the small moments we stop noticing.
When those relationships weaken, our attention follows.
We stop connecting. We start reacting. We manage instead of leading.
Which is exactly what I was thinking about when I found myself at the W Seattle last week.
We were introduced to a man who owns one of the most successful McDonald's franchises on the entire West Coast. Multiple locations. By every measure, thriving.
I asked him what made him so successful.
He didn't hesitate.
He didn't mention systems or margins or KPIs.
He looked at me and said: "I take a shift."
He still shows up. Ties on the apron. Flips the burgers. Frys the fries. Works the line alongside his team. Works the drive-thru window. Mops the floors.
And when he said it, I noticed something in his face. Pride. Not in the success. In the showing up.
Not because he has to.
Because he chooses to.
That's not operations.
That's relationship.
It made me ask myself a question I'll now pass to you:
When was the last time you took a shift in your own life? For work or personal?
Not observed. Not managed. Not reviewed from a distance.
Actually stepped in.
Because most people don't.
Most people drift without realizing it. They assume connection. They manage from afar. And slowly, without any single dramatic moment, the distance grows.
But the ones who do show up?
They notice things. They reconnect. They invest in the relationships that actually respond back.
Your chair doesn't care if you ignore it.
Your team does. Your family does. Your clients do.
So here's something simple for this week:
Take a shift. Embrace what the leadership team at the W Seattle does. Help out others, even when it may be uncomfortable. Even when you're not an expert at that task, make the effort and make the impact.
Sit with someone instead of rushing past them. Do the job instead of just reviewing it. Ask one more question instead of assuming you already know.
Relationships don't break all at once.
They drift.
And the best way to stop the drift is the same way that McDonald's owner stays connected to what matters most.
You show up.
I'm rooting for you.
Visit Blaine Bartlett at: https://www.blainebartlett.com/
