Tag Archives: learn to negotiate

To Keep Moving Up, Take The Steps Necessary To Succeed

Whether it’s a high visibility assignment for your company, a line position which will get you in the running for senior management or a plum post in London — *ask for it*. Learn to negotiate. To be perceived as powerful, act like a leader. Take charge, take responsibility, come up with a solution. And most important, never stop moving up. Keeping the momentum in your career is vital for your success.

First, take stock of yourself, and see where you are in the food chain of your organization.

If you’re not at, or near the top, it’s time to take immediate remedial action. If you’re already in middle management, decide to take on the toughest hurdle: moving from middle to top management.

You probably will have to work consciously on modifying many of your habits and attitudes. Perhaps the most important attitude change will be to give up “the caretaker-of-the-details trap”. The shift from middle manager to top manager is a shift from “doing” to “directing” or delegating. A top manager must focus on big picture issues. You must learn to develop successful strategy and effective management of people. Doing someone else’s job can no longer be one of your options. Tackle the big problems….let someone else pick the ladies’ room wall paper. Learn to take well thought out risks, since being unremarkable and unnoticed at work won’t get you where you want to go either.

If you seem “stuck” in whatever position you’re in, take an analytical look at your company and its true “woman-friendly” quotient.

Does your company have women in executive offices and on the board of directors? Do female executives earn as much as their male counterparts? If not, you might start looking around at companies where you may find a more “level playing field” and greater opportunities for advancement. Even a lateral move can put the momentum back in your career.

Find the right company with a culture which supports your success.

Companies which have embraced “family friendly” and diversity oriented values will have designed an organization with the staffing philosophy and processes and development philosophy and processes to support those values. On a formal basis, managers will provide opportunities for visibility; explain and interpret organizational politics; map out clear developmental goals and support you in achieving them. On an informal basis, management will have credible advocates with positional authority to see that key people, and women in particular, are not excluded from informal networks. Advocates with authority will also assure that women have access to a line position with responsibility so they they may qualify for promotion to the next level. Within this framework you should try to align your career goals with what you see as the opportunities within your company.

Learn to negotiate, to uncover the “hidden agendas and masked perceptions”, to identify your true value, make it visible, and make the negotiation pivot around it.

Almost every day at work, we are faced with some type of negotiation. Not only must we negotiate for our salary, perks, benefits, title, office space and support staff, but daily issues involving our duties, the need for increased manpower, authority over projects, flexibility with clients, arrangements, communication or sharing of the workload with co-workers; all require a form of negotiation, which, if we fail to recognize, we will, in all probability, fail to win.

The only reason someone is negotiating with you is that you have a value which he wants. The more you can make that value visible, and make the negotiation pivot around it, the stronger your position will be. The first negotiation, which will shape much of your future is how much you will earn and what benefits you will receive. Bargain hard and smart. Your work life depends upon it.

To talk is to win.

At every opportunity, step up to the plate, speak up in an authoritative voice and present a message which is clear and communicates your firm belief in it. Whether it’s a high visibility assignment for your company, a line position which will get you in the running for senior management or a plum post in London — ask for it. Don’t hint. Forget indirection and subtlety. If you want a job within the company ask for it. And ask for the authority to do it right.

Get recognized, the not so easy task for women.

Why is it so difficult for women to get recognized in corporate America? It is one thing to perform effectively, and it is quite another to be perceived as performing effectively. The answer to being perceived as effective and getting recognized for it does not lie in performance. Research shows women perform as well on the job as men, often better, but men are prone to boasting and successful men have become experts in self promotion. To most women, boasting is anathema. A major turning point in most women’s careers comes when they recognize that self promotion is part of the game of business. Start immediately by weaving your accomplishments into your casual conversations. Absolutely anything can be your cue. Example: “I haven’t been anyplace the air conditioner was turned on so high since the Chamber of Commerce had that special banquet to honor me.”

If you want recognition, you must broadcast your achievements and press for appropriate rewards and advancement. No one else will do it for you. And if you start promoting yourself, you will soon feel comfortable doing it, and equally important, you will begin to realize you deserve it.

Go for the power and never stop moving up.

Power is an important currency in today’s workplace. In fact, power is largely in the perception of it. To be perceived as powerful, act like a leader. Take charge, take responsibility, come up with a solution. You don’t need to be president of a corporation or head of a committee. You just need to lead. Do you see a problem crying out for a solution? Develop a project to address it. Projects not only gather people together and marshal their strengths to achieve a defined and mutually beneficial goal, they advertise your skills and position you as a leader. Develop reputational power by tackling the critical issues and getting results.

Determine to hone and expand your skills, grow and promote yourself, build relationships and networks, deliver results and be sure to get credit for them. Then, continue to get feedback.

Are your career goals still the same, or have they changed. If they’ve changed, make the necessary adjustments and pursue new opportunities which match your new goals.

Check with the market to be certain you’re getting paid what you’re worth in the market today. Check salary benchmarks in your industry.

As measures of your success, you must….

  • Have an exceptional skill or expertise at something which delivers real value.
  • Focus on the practical result of the skill you deliver.
  • Learn how to be a leader and a supportive team player at the same time.
  • Be a visionary….. define a goal and make it a reality.

As Thoreau once said :” Keep marching continously in the direction of your dreams and one day you will be leading the life you have imagined.” It will never be sooner than today to start.

“Hidden Agendas, Masked Assumptions” of Everyday Negotiations

Almost every day at work, we are faced with some type of negotiation. Not only must we negotiate for our salary, perks, benefits, title, office space and support staff, but daily issues involving our duties, the need for increased manpower, authority over projects, flexibility with clients, arrangements, communication or sharing of the workload with co-workers; all require a form of negotiation, which, if we fail to recognize, we will, in all probability, fail to win.

Beneath the surface of all negotiations are “hidden agendas and masked assumptions”, most of which are unfavorable to women. Women, generally, are expected to acquiesce, keep the peace, not make waves, and be the first to make concessions. Women need to learn not to buy into this self-defeating set of expectations. There are reasons women take home only seventy four cents for every dollar of men’s take-home pay, and one of those reasons is that women accept the terms they are first offered and fail to negotiate for more, not only more salary, but more support, better hours, more flexibility, better travel conditions and office space.

In “The Shadow Negotiation”, authors Deborah Kolb, Ph.D., and Judith Williams, Ph.D. point out that the results of failing to bargain hard and smart ” accumulate over time, widening a gap that is no longer measured in money alone.” This gap can result in a woman not being given the resources or authority to allow her to succeed, and in being passed over for plum assignments, where she will gain visibility and recognition. The effects of acquiescing, rather than holding your opposition’s feet to the fire, can snowball, not only becoming increasingly negative, as time goes by, but sending your career on a downward trajectory as well.

Negotiating well is really a matter of learning some basic techniques, bringing to bear all your observations and insights about the other parties, speaking up for yourself, and practicing every day, in every negotiation, no matter how small.

Prepare To Negotiate

Get some perspective by talking to others in advance, getting their feedback. Develop alternatives so you can be prepared to walk away without accepting what the other side offers. Walking away, or feigning walking away, is a powerful negotiating tool.

Plan carefully precisely what it is you want and the minimum you will accept. Always ask for more than you want , so you have something to give in on. Use ” the salami technique”, getting what you want, one slice at a time, rather than asking for the whole salami at once, thereby, at least on the surface, lowering the cost to your opponent to give in, so he will be less likely to fight.

Offer Incentives and Make Your Value Visible

The only reason someone is negotiating with you is that you have a value which he wants. The more you can make that value visible, and make the negotiation pivot around it, the stronger your position will be. For example, if you are an editor going into a salary negotiation, and you have been asked to “pitch in”, as women frequently are, to oversee your company’s newsletter, in addition to your regular work, you can make that expertise more visible by withdrawing your services prior to a negotiation. You can do this directly: ” I was happy to pitch in, but if I’m not adequately paid for my regular job, it’s hard to justify going the extra mile to help with the newsletter.” Or you can finesse it: ” My current workload just doesn’t allow it. We’ll see what the future brings.” They will understand. And, if they don’t, perhaps you consider moving on to a brighter and more generous group.

Although this may seem harsh, most experts on the subject agree that women’s work, in particular, has a way of getting “disappeared”. You become the organization “wife”, expected to bear most of the tiresome chores cheerfully and without thanks or recognition. Don’t buy into it.

As Kolb and Williams say: ” The value of the work you do disappears unless you claim it. Unnoticed work goes unrewarded. Rather than continue to be taken for granted, you can deliberately jostle their awareness.”

Participate in Structuring the Process

Find ways to make the negotiation more fair and objective. When discussing salary, bring benchmarks to show what others in your position in your industry are earning. Use comparisons, studies, and surveys to help make your point. Don’t let the opposition make all the rules. You make rules more favorable to your position.

Negotiation Often Means Confronting Change

Negotiation is often about change and many people tend to resist change. They particularly resist paying more, either in the form of money, power or collaboration, all of which have value in the workplace. Workplace issues like family leave or flextime may be new to a company and require some soul searching. Again, one is well advised to bring comparisons and studies to back up your advocacy of what’s workable and desirable for your organization. People are far less likely to question published facts from reliable sources than they are to question you.

Apply Pressure, Develop Allies

The status quo is always the path of least resistance. Generally, in the short run, it’s easier to do nothing, so that’s the path many will choose, if left to their own devices. It’s up to you to make change more appealing by making the status quo less comfortable. If negotiating for yourself, you should highlight all the work you do and the goals you accomplish. Make it evident that without your work, support, or collaboration, the status quo will become increasingly uncomfortable in various ways.

You can also show that what you are asking for is really the lesser of two evils. For example, “If we don’t pay more money for better insurance now, the odds are the company will be liable for many times this amount, later, for a liability not covered by our present insurance. We would really be protecting our assets.”

Find allies who support your position and put them to work as well. The more fresh reinforcements you have backing your position, the stronger it will be. The idea is not to let your opponents wear you down. You wear them down, with persistence, research, and an increasing number of allies for your position.

Resisting Challenges-Naming

Just as political camps do in an election, it’s important that you have an almost instantaneous response to challenges. Always make your position clear, avoid the personal, re-frame issues from your point of view. One tactic which is very important for women is “naming”. We should always try to make visible any tactic being used against us so people can see it for what it is. When an opponent continuously asks for more information, or ,for one reason another, refuses to reach a conclusion or bring a matter to closure, you can name this tactic “stalling.”

According to Kolb and Williams ” Just the act of naming let’s the other person know the tactic is transparent. As a result naming delivers two messages: They show you are not naive about common negotiating tactics and that the particular ploy is not working. You recognize both the ploy and why it is being used against you.”

Not Every One Will Walk Out Happy As Can Be

Women, with our more nurturing, caring and connecting nature, instinctively want everyone to walk away from a negotiation happy. In fact, women sometimes lose a negotiation because in the final moments, having won, we toss the victory back, like a fish, being tossed back into the stream. “Oh John, I hope you’re not too unhappy. Maybe we can work something out after all.” Resist that urge. This is not a child with a skinned knee. This is your colleague and your equal who was willing to do what it took to win against you and he certainly wouldn’t be tossing you any concessions, after the fact. You’ve seen football players doing a victory dance after a touchdown? Picture your colleague with the same reaction to a win over you.

When you win, you win. Don’t look back. Don’t be affected, one way or another by tantrums, scowls, gruff remarks or sulky body language. He doesn’t have to like it. It’s not your job to keep everyone happy. Your job is to be an advocate for you.

In the end, if you put you first, you will be an advocate for change. And change will be good both for women and the organizations for which they work.