What if the way you connect was the key to how you lead, love, and live?

We hear it all the time: relationships are the foundation of a fulfilling life. Whether you’re leading a business, connecting with co-workers, or navigating a marriage, the ability to relate to others—with presence, patience, and emotional intelligence—determines so much of our success and well-being.

And yet, emotional intelligence often feels like a mystery.

We know it matters.
We know when it’s missing.
But few of us were ever taught how to actually practice it.

That’s exactly the gap Jessica Montague, licensed therapist, executive coach, and co-founder of the Relatable app, is working to fill.

From One-on-One Therapy to a Movement for Everyday Connection

When I sat down with Jessica for our MBNews interview, it didn’t take long to feel her clarity, calm presence, and conviction. For over 20 years, she’s worked with couples, families, and high-performing leaders in private practice, helping them strengthen relationships and break lifelong patterns of disconnection.

But even with a thriving client base and measurable impact, something didn’t sit right.

“I found myself saying the same things over and over again,” Jessica said. “And it hit me—why are we sharing this life-changing information with one person at a time, when it’s needed by everyone?”

So she decided to build a tool that would deliver the core elements of relational growth—practical, science-backed, emotionally intelligent guidance—in a format that could be accessed by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The result? Relatable—a digital platform designed to help people navigate real-life relationship challenges in real time, using bite-sized lessons grounded in emotional intelligence, attachment theory, and decades of therapeutic practice.

The Problem: Emotional Intelligence Is Still Treated Like a Luxury

In a world that increasingly values speed, productivity, and technical skill, emotional intelligence has often been treated like an afterthought—a “nice-to-have” trait rather than a core competency.

Even in the wellness and leadership spaces—where words like “authenticity,” “vulnerability,” and “alignment” are commonly used—relational skills are often left out of the practical toolkit.

We attend leadership seminars, read books on communication, and tell our teams that “culture matters,” yet struggle to have an honest conversation with our partner at the end of the day.

Jessica has seen it firsthand in both the therapy room and the boardroom.

“So many of the people I work with are deeply intelligent, successful, and self-aware,” she said. “But even they don’t always know how to pause when they’re triggered, or what to say when someone’s shut down, or how to reconnect after conflict.”

And when relationships break down, they don’t just affect one area—they ripple into everything.

👉 Disconnected parents often become emotionally unavailable leaders.
👉 Team tension bleeds into home life.
👉 Unspoken needs become burnout, avoidance, and resentment.

It’s not just personal. It’s systemic. And it’s costing us dearly—in trust, in productivity, in mental health, and in the capacity to lead from a place of presence.

We Know We Need Connection—But Don’t Know How to Create It

According to a recent study published in Harvard Business Review, emotional intelligence is one of the top predictors of effective leadership. In fact, 90% of high performers rank high in EQ (emotional quotient). And yet, fewer than 36% of organizations offer any kind of training in emotional intelligence for their teams.

The same is true in personal life.

We want to feel connected in our relationships. We want better communication with our partners. We want to parent with patience and empathy.

But we weren’t taught how.

Jessica describes it like this:

“We don’t come with a manual. Most of us are carrying patterns we learned in childhood, unspoken wounds, and nervous systems that are trying to survive. Add modern stress, busy schedules, and endless responsibilities—and connection gets lost.”

That’s where Relatable comes in.

Micro-Coaching for Real Life

Relatable was built for people who want to grow emotionally—but need it to be practical, digestible, and real-time.

Instead of long lectures or complex therapy sessions, Relatable offers 5 to 7-minute coaching sessions you can listen to on your morning walk, during your lunch break, or right before an important conversation.

Topics include:

• How to recognize your triggers

• What to say during conflict

• How to rebuild trust

• How to stay regulated when someone else isn’t

• How to listen with empathy

• How to create emotional safety

• …and more

Each lesson is designed to offer one actionable skill, with guided scripts, insights, and reflective prompts.

“We don’t want to overwhelm people with theory,” Jessica says. “We want to meet them where they are, in their everyday relationships, and give them a tool they can use today.”

Leadership isn't separate from company culture; it is the culture.

The way leaders show up in everyday interactions—their tone, presence, emotional regulation, and ability to communicate clearly—sets the tone for everyone else.

You can’t teach emotional safety in a PowerPoint.
You can’t build trust with a quarterly memo.

Culture is built in micro-moments.
In how feedback is given.
In whether people feel heard.
In how conflict is handled—especially when it’s uncomfortable.

And here’s the truth: if a leader avoids vulnerability, so will the team.
If a leader communicates from reactivity, confusion, or defensiveness, that becomes the unspoken norm.

Jessica put it perfectly in our conversation:

“When a leader begins to shift the way they show up emotionally—how they listen, how they repair, how they regulate—everything downstream changes. That’s where culture is created. Not in policy, but in practice.”

So if you're a founder, manager, or coach leading a team—remember this:
Your energy becomes the environment.
Your emotional fluency becomes the culture.
Your growth becomes the team’s ceiling—or its expansion.

Leadership is never just about strategy. It’s about emotional embodiment.
And that’s where transformation begins.

Why This Matters for Health & Wellness Leaders

At MindfulBody Productions, we work with hundreds of wellness brands, coaches, and practitioners. And time and again, we see this pattern:

Amazing healers and experts—deeply passionate about helping others—struggle with their own relationships behind the scenes.

Their clients adore them. Their work is transformative.
But their team communication is strained. Their partnerships are tense. They’re emotionally drained and have no space left for their own needs.

This isn’t a reflection of failure—it’s a sign that we need better tools to sustain the work we’re doing.

Jessica’s work reminds us that emotional intelligence isn’t a luxury—it’s a survival skill. It’s also a strategic advantage in business.

When teams speak the same relational language:
✅ Trust grows
✅ Feedback gets easier
✅ Creativity flows
✅ Conflict becomes productive, not toxic
✅ People feel safe to be themselves

This is what Relatable is helping leaders create—cultures rooted in clarity, compassion, and emotional fluency.

The Bigger Vision: Making Emotional Growth Accessible for All

While Relatable is a powerful resource for individuals, Jessica and her team are also working with organizations, wellness companies, and conscious leaders to bring emotional intelligence into their teams.

They’ve partnered with HR leaders, coaches, and founders to roll out Relatable across teams of 10 to 500+—giving everyone access to the same tools and creating shared understanding that drives meaningful change.

This isn't just professional development—it's personal transformation that sticks.

“When people start applying these tools consistently,” Jessica says, “they don’t just communicate better—they feel better. Their nervous systems calm down. Their confidence grows. Their relationships deepen.”

In a world that’s more digitally connected and emotionally disconnected than ever, that kind of change matters.

Why This Conversation Hit Home for Me

When I created MBNews, it was with one mission: to spotlight the people who are changing the way we care for ourselves and others.

Jessica Montague’s work represents everything we stand for:

• A whole-person approach

• Tools that are rooted in research but grounded in heart

• Solutions that empower, not overwhelm

After speaking with her, I found myself rethinking how I show up in my own relationships. The words I choose. The moments I miss. The little ways connection either deepens—or dissolves.

And I realized:
“This isn’t just about learning how to “communicate better.” It’s about learning how to be human—together.”

Want to Experience It for Yourself?

If you’re a healthcare leader, wellness practitioner, team builder, or just someone who cares about showing up better in your relationships—Relatable was made for you.

👥 Whether you’re navigating hard conversations with clients…
👨‍👩‍👧 Parenting with more patience…
💬 Or leading a team through rapid growth and change…

Relatable is the emotional toolkit you’ve been missing.

Download the Relatable app and start building better conversations today:
https://www.relatable.app/ 

If your interested in bringing Relatable to the workplace, you can explore here: https://www.relatable.app/atwork

Hey, It’s Emilia Here! 👋

I created MBNews with a simple, but powerful mission:
To shine a light on the people, ideas, and innovations that are truly transforming health and wellness.

In a world full of noise and overwhelm, we need grounded, trusted voices more than ever—voices like yours. Every conversation we publish is designed to bridge the gap between breakthrough research and the real humans who need it most: practitioners, patients, caregivers, and changemakers like you.

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