Why Relationship Capital Is the Most Underrated Career Skill
Why trust and relationships matter more than performance alone in building a lasting career.
Early in my career, I thought success came down to performance. Work hard, know your material, deliver results — and everything else would fall into place.
What I learned instead is that results open doors, but relationships determine how far you actually go.
Through my work in the technology sector across retail, banking, law, and grocery retail, I’ve seen how much progress depends on trust. These are industries with long timelines, high risk, and complex decision-making. Very little happens quickly, and almost nothing happens without confidence in the people involved. Yet relationship-building is often treated as secondary to technical expertise or output.
In reality, it’s foundational.
Relationship capital is the trust, credibility, and goodwill you build over time. It doesn’t announce itself, and it doesn’t show up immediately on paper. But it compounds quietly and influences who people listen to, who they call first, and who they want in the room when decisions matter.
In strategic account work, success rarely comes from a single conversation or pitch. It’s built through consistency — showing up prepared, listening carefully, following through, and demonstrating good judgment long before there’s anything to sell. The strongest professional relationships I’ve built didn’t start with an ask. They started with curiosity, respect, and reliability.
There’s a common misconception that relationship capital is about being liked. It isn’t. It’s about being trusted. Trust comes from doing what you say you’ll do, understanding what matters to the other person, and showing up the same way over time. When that trust is there, influence follows naturally.
Another misconception is that relationship-building is separate from “real work.” From my experience, it is the work. Strong relationships make everything else easier. They shorten timelines, reduce friction, and turn conversations into collaboration. They allow people to move forward with confidence instead of hesitation.
This matters even more early in a career, when you don’t yet have a title or tenure to lean on. Relationship capital becomes your credibility. It allows your ideas to carry weight and your perspective to be taken seriously, even before it’s formally recognized.
Some of the most meaningful moments in my career happened quietly — an opportunity that came from a conversation months earlier, a referral made when I wasn’t in the room, a relationship that turned into a long-term partnership years later. None of those moments were accidental. They were the result of investing early and thinking long-term.
For women especially, relationship capital can be a powerful differentiator. In environments where access and visibility aren’t always evenly distributed, trust becomes a bridge. Strong relationships create advocates not through self-promotion, but through consistency and credibility.
Skills will always matter. Performance will always matter. But relationship capital is what sustains a career as roles change and industries evolve. It’s the part of success that compounds — and the earlier you invest in it, the stronger the return.
