Relationship Capital: Win Trust, Win Work

You can be great at your job and still feel stuck.

Not because you lack skill. Because work is not a solo sport. The biggest projects, the fastest approvals, the smoothest operations—these don’t happen through talent alone. They happen through people who trust each other enough to move quickly.

And that’s where many professionals struggle, especially in Filipino workplaces.

You want to do good work. You want to keep things simple. You want to avoid drama. So you keep your head down, focus on tasks, and tell yourself, “As long as I deliver, that’s enough.”

Then you hit your first wall.

Your request sits in someone’s inbox for three days. Your budget approval takes two weeks. Your email gets “seen” but never answered. Your proposal gets “noted” and quietly buried. Your project slows down not because it’s hard, but because you’re waiting on people who don’t feel any urgency to help you.

You don’t have a skill problem.

You have a relationship capital problem.

The Office Version of “Pakisuyo”

Here’s a Filipino workplace truth.

A lot of things happen through “pakisuyo.”

Not the toxic kind. The practical kind. The kind where someone helps you because they know you, respect you, and trust you. The kind where work moves because relationships make it easier to coordinate, clarify, and cooperate.

When you have relationship capital, you can message someone and get a reply in ten minutes. You can ask for a quick favor and people say yes. You can raise an issue and people listen. You can propose a change and people give you the benefit of the doubt.

When you don’t, everything becomes heavy. You need formal memos for simple things. You need meetings for small clarifications. You need follow-ups for basic responses. You start feeling like you’re begging for people to do their part.

That’s exhausting.

Why “Just Be Professional” Isn’t Enough

Some people treat relationships like “soft stuff.”

They act like trust is optional. They think, “I’m not here to make friends.” They believe relationships are for extroverts, not serious workers.

But relationships are not decoration. They are infrastructure.

Trust is what makes teams move without needing constant supervision. Trust is what makes people share information early. Trust is what makes feedback easier to hear. Trust is what makes collaboration smoother.

If you want to win at work, you don’t just build competence. You build allies.

The Everyday Ways Trust Breaks

Trust doesn’t break only through big betrayals.

It breaks through small habits.

You promise an update and forget. You say “I’ll send it later” and it arrives two days after. You ask for help, but you disappear when someone asks you. You forward a problem without context. You blame another department in public. You leave people out of a conversation that affects them.

In Filipino offices, these small things have long memories.

People may still smile. They may still be polite. But their willingness to help drops.

And suddenly, you feel it. Your work becomes harder because people stop leaning in.

Stop Networking. Start Depositing.

Relationship capital works like savings.

You don’t build it by asking for help all the time. You build it by making small deposits consistently—so when you need to withdraw, it’s easy.

Stop “networking.” Start depositing trust. Deposits look simple, almost boring. But they compound fast.

Examples You’ll Recognize

A team lead sends a quick message after a meeting: “Thanks for jumping in. Here’s the decision and next step.” People love that person because they reduce confusion.

A project officer shares a template that makes everyone’s work easier. Suddenly, other teams stop seeing them as “another requester” and start seeing them as a partner.

A supervisor checks in before deadlines, not to pressure people, but to support: “What’s stuck? What do you need?” That one question prevents delays and builds loyalty.

A staff member gives credit in public: “Sales helped us solve this.” In Filipino culture, that gesture travels. People remember who honors them.

A colleague responds fast when someone asks for clarification. Not because they’re always available, but because they respect the other person’s time.

These are small moves. They don’t look heroic. But they make work smoother. They make you easier to work with. They make people more willing to help you.

And that willingness is leverage.

The Humor We All Know

You know relationship capital is low when you hear:

“Follow up ko lang po…” for the fourth time.

You send a message. No reply. You wait. You follow up again. Still nothing. So you do the Filipino professional move: add “po” and a smiley face like it will magically speed things up.

Sometimes it works.

But it works better when trust is already there.

The Trust Touch

Here’s a simple habit you can start this week.

Pick five people who matter to your work. Not necessarily friends. Just people you frequently coordinate with: a finance person, an admin, a supervisor, a teammate from another department, a key stakeholder.

Then do one small Trust Touch each week.

A Trust Touch can be:

A short thank-you message after they help. A heads-up before you send a request. A clear update that saves them time. A quick check-in: “Anything you need from me?” A public credit mention in a meeting. A small resource you share that makes their work easier.

One touch. Five people. Every week.

This is not fake. This is practical respect.

You’re building the kind of workplace where people want to cooperate with you.

Try This Today

Write down five names.

Then send one message to one person today. Keep it simple:

“Quick update: here’s where we are, here’s what’s next, and here’s what I need from you.”

Or:

“Thank you for helping with _____. That made a difference.”

Start depositing.

Because when you win trust, you win work.