Leadership Skills

5 Tricks to Approach Your Pay Negotiations with Confidence

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Negotiating complex pay packages isn’t easy. And very few people I know actually enjoy the process. Most people don’t feel confident in how they should approach pay negotiations. These 5 tips can help:

  1. Understand the package
  2. Know what you want
  3. Stand up for yourself (but don’t be a jerk)
  4. Be prepared to walk away
  5. Get help
Be confident in pay negotiations: understand the package, know what you want, stand up for yourself, be prepared to walk away, and get help. Click To Tweet

Understand the package

Don’t just think about base salary during pay negotiations. Short-term incentives (like bonuses and commissions), long-term incentives (like stock), benefits (like healthcare, retirement, and vacation), and the culture of the company, are all important.

If you want to understand short-term incentives better, be sure to ask about the target (usually a percentage of base pay), what the average actual payout has been for the past 3-5 years, and when you’d be eligible for your first payout. You can ask similar questions about long-term incentives.

Do your homework: read all of the materials that come with your offer letter. If you’re in college (or are a recent grad), your placement office may have helpful information. Many organizations put tons of details online, too. The questions you ask shouldn’t be easily answered by reading things you already have.

If you’re changing locations, you’ll also want to think about how taxes and cost of living will affect your offer, as well as what the relocation package looks like. Employers focus on cost of labor (how much it costs to pay people) rather than cost of living (how much it costs to live in a place).

While salaries are typically higher in New York City and San Francisco than they are in the rest of the country, they’re usually not high enough to offset the higher cost of living there. But other factors can make those places more attractive, too.

Know what you want

Be clear and specific about what’s important to you, and know that there are certain things that you may want that the organization is unable or unwilling to negotiate.

If the incentive pay makes sense to you, but the base pay doesn’t meet your expectations, spend your time talking with them about base pay, not about incentives.

And know that, while the cost of healthcare premiums is almost never negotiable, you might be able to negotiate an increase to base pay that can help offset it, if that’s something important to you.

Stand up for yourself (but don’t be a jerk)

The organization’s job is to get the most out of you at what they think is a fair price. It’s not to screw you over. Think about it. They want you to start your new job excited to contribute, not with a chip on your shoulder.

Your job, on the other hand, is to get the most out of the organization for what you’ll be doing for them. Your job is to stand up for what you want. It’s okay to be firm, but remember, nobody likes dealing with jerks, so don’t be one.

Don’t forget that how you conduct yourself in pay negotiations will almost certainly get back to your new manager (if you’re not already dealing with her/him). Don’t say or do anything during negotiations that you wouldn’t say or do in front of your manager.

Rank the pieces of the package you want to negotiate from the most important to the least, knowing you might not get through your whole list. And if it’s not really important to you, don’t try to negotiate it. It’s pretty easy to get negotiation fatigue, and from there, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to Jerkville.

Be prepared to walk away

Ideally, the organization’s needs and yours match up well, but sometimes, they just don’t. When things don’t work out, try not to beat yourself up about it. If you take a job that’s not a match, it’s likely to mean heartache in the end.

If you feel confident and secure enough to actually be okay if things don’t work out with the job offer, it takes the pressure off so you can stay curious during negotiations. When you’re not so tied to the outcome, it’s much less likely that you’ll wind up doing something you regret (like pushing too hard or seeing a match when there really isn’t one).

Get help

Don’t go it alone – this is hard stuff! Make sure you have someone to bounce ideas off of who has your best interest in mind. Having your school’s career counselor or a trusted friend or your leadership coach in your corner can help you focus on what’s important and show up the way you want to.

What’s helped you most in your pay negotiations? Let us know in the comments below!

 

How to Become Your Coach’s Ideal Client

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As a leadership coach, there are a few things that make my ideal clients stand out from the rest. Ideal clients get more and better results from coaching than do others, and I attribute those results to 4 powerful key factors: my ideal clients Show Up, they’re Open, they’re Vulnerable, and they Do the Work.

Ideal leadership coaching clients have 4 things in common. They show up, they're open, they're vulnerable, and they do the work. Click To Tweet

Show up.

If leadership coaching is a priority for you, show it! Be on time to sessions, try your best to not reschedule, and be present, without distractions. If you find yourself checking email or texts during a coaching session, chances are pretty good that you’re not focusing on your coaching. It’s intense work that deserves your attention and priority. After all, you’re the only one who can do this work for yourself!

Be open.

Your coach sees things from a different perspective, and ideally can see around your blind spots. So much more is possible for you when you can let go of your preconceptions. Some questions your coach will have for you may sound like they’re from left field (or outer space!), but there may be connections your coach is seeing that can help you get closer to your goal. Coaching is a great place to try new perspectives and to be curious.

Be vulnerable.

Coaching is confidential, so there’s no reason to hold back, and you can only get to the good stuff by going deep. You can’t transform without growth, and growth can be scary. My clients who have shown the most vulnerability in our sessions have made the greatest progress toward their goals.

Do the work.

My favorite clients have one thing in common: they’re committed to the process. Your coach will probably give you big questions to ponder or assignments to do between sessions. Make sure you do them! Think about the stuff you’ve been working with your coach on when you’re not in session. Believe it or not, the magic happens between the sessions. Some of your biggest “aha” moments will happen when you’re not meeting with your coach. They might come when you’re adopting a new way of doing things at work, or when you notice an opportunity to use a new skill — even when you’re drinking your morning cup of green tea!

If you’re a leadership coaching client, how have you used these Powerful 4? If you’re a coach, which factors lead to breakthrough results for your clients? Tell us in the comments below!

 

Use Celebration to Drive Better Business Results

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Change is hard. Sometimes, it’s super-hard. Five steps forward, then two steps back. So notice yourself being the change you want to see, and celebrate it! Don’t wait until it’s over. Because it never is. It’s not cheating to celebrate your progress along the way.

Celebrating what you and your team are doing right is a great step toward making sure that success happens again. And again. Click To Tweet

High achievers are always looking for the next problem to solve or mountain to climb. That’s terrific! But don’t forget to take a moment to look around, take stock, and notice what you have (or your team has) accomplished.

To truly reinforce the link between achievement and reward, take a 3 step approach to get the most from your celebration:

  • Before the celebration: Think about your awesome achievement when you’re designing your celebration.
  • During the celebration: Remember why you’re celebrating. Revel in it. Luxuriate in it. Take photos (they could be of the celebration, or something that reminds you of it), save mementos (ticket stubs, a pretty stone, your golf scorecard), or buy something to remind you of your experience (postcard, bookmark, t-shirt). Or do all three!
  • After the celebration: Journal about your experience or pin a photo of your celebration or mementos to your wall so you can remember both your achievement as well as the great feelings you had when you were celebrating.

Sometimes, progress is easier to see in the rear-view mirror. Where were you when you started this effort, 6 days/weeks/months ago? Holy cow, can you believe how far you’ve come since then? Sure, there are still improvements to be made and other steps to take. But just for a minute . . . breathe! And appreciate the awesomeness.

Every celebration doesn’t have to be a big giant deal. It could be something as simple as treating yourself to a special coffee drink. Or getting a pedicure. Or doing a happy dance. Or hitting a bucket of golf balls. Or going to a movie with your pals. Or hiking in the woods. Or chocolate. Or whatever has meaning for you.

If you have a significant milestone, like getting a new job you’re excited about or completing a certification or degree program, make sure your celebration’s magnitude fits the achievement.

A pedicure as a celebration for completing a project sounds awesome; if that’s how you’re celebrating getting your MBA . . . well, you might want to make that a spa day — heck, make a weekend (week?) out of it.

Of course, it’s not about the money you spend on celebration, either. If you’re strapped for cash, think of ways you can celebrate that don’t cost big bucks. A picnic or bike ride or taking the time to read a book you’ve been longing to read can be wonderful ways to celebrate.

Wow! You are awesome!

What’s your favorite way to celebrate? Tell us in the comments below!

Vision: Know Where You’re Going to Lead People Right

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Everyone agrees that strategic vision is crucial to leadership, but there are lots of different ideas about what that means. Vision can be different depending on the level of leadership, but in short, it’s the ability to “see” into the future, forecast what’s needed between now and then, and understand the impact of different decisions.

Because it’s tied so strongly to planning and strategy, Vision is one of the five skills that make every leader better (Compassion, Curiosity, Communication, Vision, and Resilience).

The range and scope of the vision that’s needed as a leader largely depends on the type of role you have. If you’re a CEO, you need to be able to imagine out far into the future to see competitive threats, opportunities, shifts in your customer base, and how all of this could impact your enterprise (and how you want your enterprise to impact all of the above).

If you’re a first-line supervisor, the scope of your vision may not require you to think out as far into the future, or to understand impacts beyond the organization you work for. However, you do need to have a great sense of how the work your team does impacts others, as well as how other teams’ work impacts your team.

You also need to be able to describe your vision to others, involve your team in shaping and defining that vision, and use your vision to anticipate and embrace change.

True Leaders describe their vision, involve their teams in shaping their vision, and use vision to anticipate change. Click To Tweet

Describe Your Vision to Others

Describing your vision requires that you know where you’re going, you’re committed to your vision (but open to change!), and you use your great Communications skills to help your team see the things that you see. And why you see them that way.

You have different information than your team does, which will almost inevitably be at a higher strategic level than the information they have. You should be able to see connections to the bigger organization and between departments more clearly than your team, who doesn’t attend the same meetings or receive the same communications as you do.

With all of this information, you owe it to your team to share — they’ll make better decisions, which will bring better results.

Involve Your Team in Your Vision

So, great! You’ve shared your vision with your team. The next part can be a challenge — let your team help figure out how to execute it. The good news is that, as a leader, you shouldn’t be solely responsible for this work; the bad news (at least for control freaks) is that you shouldn’t be solely responsible for this work.

Invite your team to join you in vision & strategy work. It’s up to you to figure out how complete your vision is before involving your team. But regardless of the stage they join, at a minimum, listen to their suggestions (and modify your vision where it make sense), and work collaboratively with the team to set interim goals. If your team is very senior, maybe they help shape the whole strategic vision and bring the plans & tactics for how to deliver it back to you for feedback.

Regardless of how you do it, sharing your vision is a fantastic place for collaboration.

Use Vision to Anticipate Change

The only constant is change. And change is great — it’s a sign of adaptation, evolution, and innovation. As a visionary leader, you should be in a place to see major shifts in your team or group coming from farther away than your team can.

There will be changes that come from above you (in an organizational sense), that you’ll be called on to execute and perhaps design. There will also be changes that you and your team identify as being critical to continuous improvement.

As a leader, you’re uniquely positioned to help your team through change, whether it comes from outside or inside of your team.

Developing your knowledge and ability in change and transition management will serve you well. There are lots of great sources for learning more about change management, and if you’re not familiar with them, I encourage you to read up.

At a minimum, you should be able to figure out how your team is adopting and adapting to the change in front of them and what you can do to help them through the change process.

What’s worked for you in sharing your Vision? Share it in the comments below!

 

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Resilience: 4 Ways True Leaders Bounce Back Better

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Resilience is all about bouncing back. It’s about risk-taking, too, because there’s not tons to bounce back from if you’re not putting yourself out there. Resilience is one of the five skills that make every leader better (Compassion, Curiosity, Communication, Vision, and Resilience).

How do you recover, and help your team to recover when things don’t go the way you’ve planned?

  1. Be flexible
  2. Stay positive
  3. Keep perspective
  4. Blow off steam
Resilience helps you and your team recover when things don’t go the way you’ve planned. Click To Tweet

Be flexible.

It’s a given: things will go wrong. But you have some control over how many things could go wrong. Perfectionists can have a hard time with resilience, since there are so many ways to mess things up and only one way to be right. Being flexible can help you find alternatives. The more pathways you can find to success, the more opportunities there are to get there.

Stay positive.

Your team needs to know that you have their backs. If you’re of the mind that anything that isn’t a success is an opportunity to learn, the chances are pretty good that your team will indeed learn from things that don’t go as planned.

If they’re spending their energy on covering their asses or assigning blame, you probably won’t get the information you need to avoid or prevent the situation in the future.

Keep perspective.

As a leader, you need a thick skin. Not everything is about you (precious little is, actually), so try not to take things personally. What others say and do reflects primarily on who they are, not who you are.

And when you make a mistake, admit it! You’ll get a ton more credit for owning up to mistakes (as long as you have a plan to address them in the future) than trying to hide or deny them.

Blow off steam.

Resilient people find ways to manage their stress in healthy ways. Anything from exercise, to listening to music, to painting, to gardening can work well. Liquor may be quicker, as they say, but it won’t be as helpful in bouncing back from adversity on a regular basis.

That’s it: maximize your Resilience by being flexible, staying positive, keeping perspective, and blowing off steam. You’ll be a better leader for it!

What helps you bounce back? Chime in below!

 

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