{"id":41877,"date":"2025-08-28T11:12:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T18:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41877"},"modified":"2025-08-28T16:08:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T23:08:13","slug":"beyond-transactions-building-level-2-relationships-in-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/beyond-transactions-building-level-2-relationships-in-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Level 2 Relationships Matter Most in Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the heart of leadership is a choice: will we remain transactional, or will we step into deeper trust and openness? In Humble Leadership<\/em>, Schein & Schein argue that Level 2 relationships<\/em>\u2014connections that honor the whole person rather than just the role\u2014are foundational for growth and transformation. They provide the ground on which something new and better can grow.<\/span><\/p>\n

As they explain, \u201cLeadership will therefore require the creation of personal relationships that will make others feel safe enough to be open and trusting with their leaders and with the other members of the team that is striving to create something new and better.\u201d[1]<\/a> These personized<\/em> relationships cultivate the openness and psychological safety that allow people to work together in meaningful ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a similar vein, the French philosopher Simone Weil reminds us that what is sacred in a person is not their role or their personality, but their whole being\u2014their thoughts, their body, their very life.[2]<\/a>This\u00a0insight resonates with Schein & Schein\u2019s vision of humble leadership: seeing people in their wholeness, not merely in their roles.<\/span><\/p>\n

The authors outline a relational continuum\u2014beginning with negative interactions, moving through transactional exchanges, and culminating in whole-person and deeply intimate connections. Within this continuum, Level 2 relationships stand out as indispensable for leadership. Schein & Schein emphasize: \u201cLeadership is always a relationship, and truly successful leadership thrives in a substrate of high openness and high trust.\u201d[3]<\/a> Humble leadership, in other words, is relational at its core. <\/span><\/p>\n

This dynamic of openness and trust also shows up in Amy Edmondson\u2019s work on psychological safety. She describes it as the kind of environment where people feel free to take risks\u2014asking questions, offering ideas, and even admitting mistakes\u2014because they know those things are welcomed.\u201d[4]<\/a> It\u2019s in this kind of space that learning and adaptability really take root. And as Schein and Schein remind us, the new and better comes from relationships built on high openness and high trust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But building these relationships is never simple. Many people retreat to the safety of technical culture, where roles are defined and expectations are predictable, but interactions remain transactional. For leaders working to cultivate Level 2 relationships, this reluctance can feel discouraging. I experience this often in North Africa, where trust and openness often unfold more slowly than I expect. Many relationships remain polite and formal, and reciprocity develops gradually, if at all. At times it feels as though the door to deeper connection will never open.<\/span><\/p>\n

In these moments, humility matters most. I have to keep extending the invitation to connection without forcing it, recognizing that not every relationship will move deeper. As a follower of Jesus, I am reminded that genuine leadership is invitational rather than coercive. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says: \u201cBehold, I stand at the door and knock.\u201d He does not push His way in but waits to be welcomed. This image embodies humble leadership\u2014patient yet confident, ready to enter, but always honoring others\u2019 readiness.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where situational humility<\/em> matters most. In North Africa, where trust often grows slowly, I have to accept uncertainty, stay curious, and pay attention to what others may see before I do. It also means noticing when my own assumptions get in the way. Practicing this humility helps me listen, wait, and make room for Level 2 relationships\u2014and with them, the possibility of something new and better.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Schein & Schein, leadership is, above all, relational. And these relationships extend beyond individuals to the life of the whole group. As they explain: \u201cLearning to think and manage in terms of interpersonal and group process is a foundational building block of Humble Leadership.\u201d[5]<\/a>Level\u00a02 relationships flourish most when the culture around them fosters openness, psychological safety, and belonging. Humble leadership, then, is not only about building trust person-to-person; it is also about shaping communities where people bring their whole selves and collaborate toward meaningful change.<\/span><\/p>\n

This group emphasis aligns with the RARE Leadership paradigm, which teaches that resilience and maturity grow in community. Warner and Wilder write: \u201cWe express the highest version of ourselves when we live out of love. We deny our true selves when we think only of ourselves and not of our group as well.\u201d[6]<\/a> Their framework highlights four habits that sustain a social culture: Remain relational, Act like yourself, Return to joy, and Endure hardships well. They also remind us: \u201cJoy is not a recipe for avoiding pain. Joy is what enables us to suffer well\u2026those who share our suffering will show us how to remember who we are when things get hard.\u201d[7]<\/a> In\u00a0this sense, joy becomes a bond that strengthens trust, making hardship more bearable when carried together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warner and Wilder add: \u201cMaturity grows in a group, and we rarely consider the importance of our group\u2019s identity or capacity either as part of a leader\u2019s job or for the development of future leaders.\u201d[8]<\/a> Humble leaders, therefore, nurture not only individual trust but also group identities rooted in a sense of belonging and resilience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, humble leadership is less about technical expertise and more about the social\u2014showing up with openness, trust, and a willingness to be shaped by others. It asks us to keep knocking without forcing, to remain curious even in uncertainty, and to nurture spaces where people and communities can flourish. This is the leadership I want to grow into: not transactional, but relational, marked by the kind of connections that make collaboration, resilience, and the possibility of something new and better come to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Preface to Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust<\/em>, 2nd ed. (Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 2021), 12, Kindle edition.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Simone Weil, Selected Essays, 1934\u20131943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings, trans. Richard Rees (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1962), 9.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Schein and Schein, Preface to Humble Leadership<\/em>, ix, Kindle edition.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Amy C. Edmondson, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well<\/em> (New York: Simon Element \/ Simon Acumen, 2023), 15-16, Kindle edition.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Schein and Schein, Preface to Humble Leadership<\/em>, 73, Kindle edition.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, RARE Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead<\/em> (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2016), 144, Kindle edition.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Warner and Wilder, RARE Leadership<\/em>, 177, Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Warner and Wilder, RARE Leadership<\/em>, 201, Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the heart of leadership is a choice: will we remain transactional, or will we step into deeper trust and openness? In Humble Leadership, Schein & Schein argue that Level 2 relationships\u2014connections that honor the whole person rather than just the role\u2014are foundational for growth and transformation. They provide the ground on which something new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3469],"class_list":["post-41877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03-schein","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41877"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41902,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41877\/revisions\/41902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}