In Carlo Rovelli’s beautiful little book Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, he writes, “We must accept the idea that reality is only interaction.” Quantum mechanics “do not describe what happens to a physical system but only how a physical system affects another physical system.”

When you first become a Project Manager, one of the first things you’ll hear (after the mantra: scope, schedule, budget) is that you need to manage through influence. Much like the quantum mechanics, if you break down managing through influence into its most essential components, it too is all about interactions — in other words, relationships. 

Or as Carla Harris says, “if people won’t follow you, how can you lead?”

Author and Wall Street veteran Carla Harris spoke at the CFA Institute 2015 Women in Investment Management Conference. In her talk, Expect to Win: Proven Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace, Harris covers two types of currency at work: Performance Currency and Relationship Currency.

Performance Currency is created each time you under promise and over deliver. However, over time it becomes harder and harder to earn because “now it is assumed you will always deliver outstanding” outcomes. Relationship Currency, on the other hand, never loses its value.

“Relationship currency is generated by the investments you make in the people in your environment,” Harris says. How do you make those investments?

Harris says, “The easiest way…is the same way you create relationships in your personal life: frequency of touch” —meaning: make sure you spend time day in and day out interacting with your team and stakeholders.

Another Harris tip for building relationships: “First thing I think about: How can I be of service?…I try to figure out what are the four things I can do for that client before I make an ask.”

As your next project with a new team kicks off, take the time to start building a relationship with those team members and new stakeholders through spending time with them and listening to how you might be able to help them. The relationships you build at the begin of a project will be the bedrock the project stands on when the going gets rough.