People recommend people they like and trust.
YOU wiLl LEARN
In this module, you’ll learn how to increase your influence at work using a term called ‘relationship currency’.
We’ll cover:
The difference between performance, relationship and authority currency.
How to influence positive outcomes.
Practical ways to build a sincere relationship with colleagues.
KEY CONCEPTS in this module
What is ‘relationship currency’?
Relationship currency is the sum of impressions someone has about you.
When someone holds you in high regard, they are more likely to advocate for you when you’re not in the room. They are, in a sense, spending their ‘credibility’ to back you and your abilities to people in their network.
Other people spend their currency on advocating for you at work.
If someone believes they know you, they trust you, and they genuinely are fond of you and/or want you to succeed, they’ll advocate for you. This is them spending their relationship currency.
At work, how well someone speaks about you from personal experience, when you’re not in the room, influences the opportunities made available to you.
What ‘currency’ do you use at work?
Relationship currency is based on how well someone believes they know you.
Performance currency is how competent someone believes you are.
Authority currency is relying on your title (e.g. CEO, Director) for influence.
When you have high relationship currency you’re given more opportunities.
When you have high performance currency you’re given more work.
When you lean solely on your authority currency, research has discovered, people are less likely to back your initiatives.
At a high level it’s already assumed you’re good at your job (performance currency).
To get more complex deals done, you need another lever. You need a way to get someone who doesn’t know you well to be willing to advocate for you, when you’re not in the room.
Equally, you need a way for someone to have positive intent when they get a request from you. Building your relationship currency and credibility is one way you can do that.
Building your relationship currency (10 mins)
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Quick Exercise: Creating your 3P’s.
The 3P’s (profile, perception, power networks) are a way of ‘reverse engineering’ how you’d like others to experience your performance and relationship currency.
Profile: what do I want to be known for?
Perception: how do I want to be perceived?
Power networks: who needs to know me?
What might your 3P’s might look like?
Three influencing strategies (20 mins)
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LOOKING FOR MORE?
Watch more on relationship currency with Carla Harris, Vice Chairman of Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley.