The more I look at the work we’re doing at Influential Encounters and the conversations happening across our industry, the more I keep coming back to this: Relevance leads to consideration. Consideration leads to purpose. When you really stop and think about it, that progression explains a lot about how careers grow, how businesses evolve, and how industries begin to change. Especially in the industries many of us work in. Snow. Landscape. Construction. Equipment. Trades. The kinds of industries where people aren’t sitting in boardrooms all day talking about leadership. They’re solving real problems in real time. Crews need direction. Customers need answers. Weather changes everything.

Relevance Comes First Relevance starts with understanding the work. Understanding the people doing the work. Understanding the challenges teams face every day. Understanding what actually matters to the businesses and customers we serve. In male-majority industries, relevance carries a lot of weight. People want to know you understand the business before they take anything else you say seriously. I learned this early on when I started showing up in rooms where I was often one of the only women there. No one ever said anything directly, but you could feel it the moment you walked into the room. People sizing things up. Trying to understand who you were and how you fit into the conversation. Over time I realized the answer was not proving myself through words. It was proving it through relevance. Understanding the operations. Understanding the people. Showing up consistently in the work and the conversations that matter. Consideration Follows Relevance Once people see you as relevant, they begin to consider you. They consider your ideas. They consider you for opportunities. They consider bringing you into conversations they may not have before. That bridge between relevance and consideration does not always happen automatically, especially in industries that have looked and operated the same way for decades. Sometimes incredibly capable people simply are not in the right rooms. Sometimes companies want to build stronger teams but have never had the conversations needed to make that happen. Sometimes leaders know they want change but are not quite sure where to start. That gap between relevance and consideration is where a lot of growth either happens or stalls out. It’s also where Influential Encounters comes in. The Problem We Are Solving When Val Lesak and I started Influential Encounters, the goal was never just to host events. The goal was to create rooms. Rooms where women in male-majority industries could connect with others who understand what it’s like to navigate these spaces. Rooms where leaders can have honest conversations about communication, leadership, and culture. Rooms where men who genuinely want stronger teams and better workplaces are part of the conversation too. Rooms where people meet, perspectives are shared, and conversations continue long after the event is over. The reality is that if people never get the opportunity to be seen, they never get considered. When talented people aren’t being considered, industries miss out on potential they simply can’t afford to ignore. Where Purpose Begins Purpose is what happens when relevance and consideration finally come together. It’s the moment when people realize the work they’re doing is bigger than just their job title or their company. It becomes about the teams they lead. The people they mentor. The culture they help shape. I see it happen at every IE event. Women walk into the room with different experiences, different perspectives, and a shared willingness to learn from one another. Some are early in their careers. Others are seasoned leaders. All of them show up ready to grow. Leaders start having conversations they rarely slow down long enough to have. Respect. Communication. Collaboration. The kind of leadership that actually builds strong teams. Those conversations don’t stop when the event ends. They carry back into their companies, their crews, and the way they lead every day. That's purpose. The Power Move If you work in a male-majority industry, here’s something worth thinking about this week. Where are you staying relevant? Are you in rooms where real conversations are happening? Are you building relationships with people who push you to grow? Are you helping create opportunities for others to be seen and considered? Relevance opens the door. Consideration pulls up the chair. Purpose is what happens when we start building something bigger together.