One of my life core values is to make emotional deposits in the lives of people I meet everyday. You can clearly be real and intentional at the same time. Great relational leaders know how to connect with the other person in meaningful ways to them. This post by Paul Shon was excellent:
“All my life, I’ve began asking myself, “Whom can I connect?” I am naturally hard-wired to see the world as a web of relationships and I get excited by the prospect of connecting people within my web. Not because they will like each other, but rather because of what they will create together. The mantra I operate in is “1 + 1 makes 3. Or 30. Or 300. ” And I’ve learned how to connect with anyone because of it.”