As we explore the significance of creating relational equity, I will offer various perspectives on the relationships we establish in our lives both personally and professionally and the importance of the varying depths of those relationships. Although it may not always be a simple task, or even necessary, to categorize each relationship we encounter in life, it can be helpful to recognize the influence people have in our lives. After all, we need wise counsel, sometimes from those in our inner circle or posse, and other times from those weak ties who offer a more objective perspective.

On this journey into the exploration of emerging adulthood, mentoring, and lifespan development, a few authors have spoken more deeply than others, or at least their words resonated more profoundly, and one of those authors is Tommy Spaulding. In his book It’s Not Just Who You Know, Spaulding mirrors Greg Jackson’s philosophy of the importance of developing relationships over networking. Spaulding shares the importance of both transactional and transformational encounters but emphasizes the significance of “taking your relationships to a higher level…so that it transforms your life, your organization, and your community.”

If my desire is for students and colleagues to have a flourishing life, and I believe that a mentoring model with multiple, intergenerational mentors is a valuable tool which can be beneficial, then we must examine both the casual relationships around us and those encounters that deepen into greater significance. It is this concept that Spaulding so vividly captures as he describes a return on relationships (ROR), specifically in a story about his interaction with a bartender, where he had a “minimal financial transaction” but his “relational transaction-an investment of a few hours of time-paid huge dividends.”

Spaulding’s description of the “Law of Random Relationships” provides the reasoning behind an initiative between our sport management program and athletics where we asked coaches to serve as game day administrators so that our coaches might create relational connections with future sport professionals. It has been my experience that some significant teaching moments happen organically when you spend a few hours side-by-side with someone else. Our students learn from mentoring moments when wisdom is passed from one generation to another even in casual settings. A few hours investment by our athletic program can have a profound impact on emerging sport professionals. This return on relationships is also a guiding principle behind the requirement for service-learning hours for our students. By placing our students alongside our coaches in service to the athletic program, we are increasing the opportunity for the development of relational equity.

“The Law of Random Relationships: an investment in a short-lived and seemingly random encounter can produce unforeseeable yet significant benefits. It’s important not to dismiss what happened when the bartender as a one-in-a-million, never-would-happen-to-me encounter. Indeed, such encounters happen to all of us more frequently than we realize. If Tom France hadn’t shared the story about the bartender, I never would have known about his influence in my life.”

Now, I pose this challenge to both students and sport professionals…how are you making an investment in earning a Return on Relationships (ROR)? One of the greatest assets of this type of thinking is that as Spaulding shares, “ROR works from the bottom up as well as from the top down. Wherever you are in the organizational flow chart, increasing your ROR provides opportunities for the types of success that not only advance your career, but also provide meaningful satisfaction in your work.” Later postings will discuss the importance of finding meaning in the work God has designed for you to accomplish, but the challenge before you now, is to consider opportunities to create relational equity and how you can earn a return on relationships.

Please share any experiences you may have had with the Law of Random Relationships below.