Ask for 15 minutes, as 30-60 minutes can be hard to sustain if you do not have enough content to hold the conversation.Ģ.) Establish a clear agenda: Make sure that you have a clear agenda for the call. Here are my steps to establish relationship currency in this isolated environment:ġ.) Initiate outreach: Reach out to the person or people that you want to build a relationship with for a video chat or phone call. How to Earn Relationship Currency in this New Normal The other advantage in this “shelter in place” environment is that we are reading everything that hits the inbox, in a way that we were not before, which gives each communication an equal opportunity to be consumed. Assuming that your colleagues all have a computer or smartphone, we all have the same opportunity to connect in the same way. Everyone has to communicate in exactly the same way, either by phone or a video conferencing platform. Well, the predicament that we find ourselves in today has created quite an opportunity. Those who did not share that common factor or were not as comfortable just “dropping by” someone’s office may have felt that it was much harder to initiate and build those relationships that are critical as someone advances their career. Prior to the pandemic, it was easier for some more than others to build relationships because it was more comfortable for them to drop by someone’s office, invite them out for a round of golf, or build a relationship over a recruiting trip because they happen to have the same alma mater or some other common denominator. I believe that this environment has leveled the playing field. As a result, many people have recently asked me: “If relationship currency is so important to my career and my ability to move up in the environment, how am I supposed to build relationships when I cannot be in the office with the people I am supposed to build these relationships with? Since we have been in a COVID-19 environment, many corporations have mandated that their employees, from executive to entry level, work from home. How Work Currency has Changed During COVID-19 That’s because your boss may leave the organization, may lose their seat at the decision making table, or they may lose their power. If the only person that knows that you are a doing a great job is your boss, then your ability to ascend is going to be vulnerable. So at a minimum you must have a relationship with every seat that touches your seat. ![]() None of us work in a silo, we are all working in highly interdependent environments. Relationship currency is the currency that is generated by the investments that you make in the people in your environment. While performance currency is worth a lot in the beginning of your career or early on in a new work environment, over time you start to experience diminishing marginal returns and the currency that becomes more important to your success is relationship currency. Performance currency is valuable for three reasons: 1) it will get you noticed and create a reputation 2) it will get you paid and promoted early on in your career and 3) it can attract a sponsor, the most important relationship to your career. Every time that you deliver above’s someone’s expectations on an assignment, you generate performance currency. ![]() Performance Currency is the currency that is generated by you delivering the work that was asked of you-and a little extra. Understanding the Currency You Need at Work It may seem harder to be visible, gain kudos, and earn professional respect when you are working remotely, but today’s situation also presents unique opportunities to help you grow these currencies and your career. In my book Strategize To Win, I coined the phrases “Performance Currency” and “Relationship Currency”-two concepts I think are ever more relevant in today’s isolated environment, in which many of us continue to work from home due to COVID-19.
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