I gave an interview the other day to Daryl Hannah of Diversity Inc with some advice for those negotiating a job offer.  Here’s the piece he wrote.

TAGS: Interview skills, negotiating pay, Women and Money

Marci Alboher’s Shifting Careers New York Times blog post last week cited the same Penelope Trunk blog post mentioned here regarding transparency with regard to compensation. Marci wrote:

A few months ago, I went to hear Gloria Steinem speak. She said many memorable things, including this: If women were more willing to reveal their salaries to one another, they would make strides in eliminating the gender gap in wages.

She then asked for readers who are in situations where their salaries are either “published” or reasonably transparent to comment. As you can imagine, a lively discussion ensued. Themes I noted:

• people who work in environments where compensation information is available are fine with it — it doesn’t seem to bother them except when they feel that coworkers are taking advantage of the protection they have as a result of being unionized or government workers
• many believe that secrecy benefits the company (whose managers may be making subjective decisions free from scrutiny) and those who are highly paid, disadvantaging others including women
• lots of people just don’t want to know — the idea that a coworker who produces less is being paid more cause all kinds of problems for them.

Yet, knowledge is power. Research shows that women who have solid data can more effectively negotiate for themselves. While you may not be comfortable asking your colleagues how much money they make, do your homework. Some sites to check:

• www.payscale.com
• www.salary.com
• www.glassdoor.com

Also, consider other ways to scout for information. Check, for example, to see if there is a salary survey published for your industry. Also take a look at job message boards (Vault is one of my favorites). Join an industry association where you’ll be able to meet other people who do the same sort of work that you do. You don’t have to ask them straight out how much money they make; instead, position your inquiry as a more general question, for example, “What information can you share with me about the salary range for my position at your company?”

One of the readers commented that in Norway there is complete transparency with regard to earnings - evidently there is a database where income (and the amount of tax paid!) is available. Hmmm, maybe we have to move there to close the gender gap in pay?

TAGS: Equal pay, Marci Alboher, negotiating pay, Pay Disparity, Penelope Trunk

It was a treat to be asked for an interview by Cleo Thompson who writes the Gender Agenda for PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Cleo asks great questions and gave me the opportunity to think out loud about the critical importance of negotiation skills. 

TAGS: Building workplace relationships, negotiation skills, the thin pink line

Yesterday I attended a session called “Flexing the Workplace: New Ways to Get Work Done and Build Careers” spearheaded by Deborah Epstein Henry of Flex-time Lawyers and sponsored by the National Association of Women Lawyers. 

As you can probably guess from the title, the speakers discussed both research and recommendations for the ways that law firms can adapt and change to meet the demands of both men and women who don’t want to do things in the same way that they’ve always been done.

The issues are complicated.  And to make it even more challenging, law firms are culturally steeped in precedent and tradition so that change can be very painful. Patricia Gillette, co-founder of the Opt In Project and a wonderful speaker, quoted Carly Fiorina: “Change is like heaven; everyone wants to go there but nobody wants to die.”  So policies that allow for flexible work schedules don’t come easy.

But even if you work in a company that has managed to establish such policies, they don’t help unless you can actually use them without damaging your career.  The senior leadership in your firm has undoubtedly supported these policies because they make smart business sense.  But those below in the pecking order may not have the “big picture” in mind - these “frozen middle” people can make actually using flexible work policies difficult if not impossible.

That’s where negotiation comes in - it’s the way you can melt the ice. Three tips:

1. Be prepared. 
   The conversation you will have with your manager should help him or her to wholeheartedly support your decision. You have to be very clear about how you will continue to meet business objectives under the new arrangement.
2. Be aware. 
   Think about how your decision will affect your colleagues.  Will anyone be disaffected?  If so, how can you proactively manage the situation before resentment starts to fester?
3. Be firm. 
   While an occasional emergency may require that you respond immediately, think about how you can manage things so that the flexible schedule that you have designed doesn’t get eroded.

TAGS: Building workplace relationships, career derailment, Fairness at work, flexibility, Negotiation, negotiation skills, The National Association of Women Lawyers, The Opt In Project, Women In the Professions, work life balance

With all the talk of economic instability, it may seem untoward to be thinking about how to ask for a raise but if you have demonstrated the value you bring to your company, it very well may be feasible.  In fact, smart companies are more likely to want to keep their top talent satisfied in challenging times.

The May/June issue of Pink Magazine (cited here before) included 2007 survey results which indicated that 51% of women had asked for a raise, perk or promotion (down from 54% in 2006).  And it paid to ask - of those who did, 79% heard “yes”.

When you get ready to broach the subject, start by benchmarking what you should be paid.  Penelope Trunk (The Brazen Careerist) mentioned a few online sources she recommends in a recent post. This step is critical for women who get much better outcomes when they negotiate for themselves armed with good information. 

TAGS: Economy, income, income disparity, negotiating pay, Negotiation, negotiation skills, Penelope Trunk, recession, strategies for success, Women and Money, women's equality

Way too often we can get stuck.  Our education, experience and even our expectations of how we (and others) should behave can cause us to miss opportunities to get better.

In today’s New York Times, Janet Rae-Dupree writes about research conducted by Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist.  Dweck, perhaps not so surprisingly, has found that the way people think about their ability to improve their innate talents makes all the difference.  Those who believe that their intelligence and talent has been predetermined by nature are less likely to push themselves to create and innovate than those who subscribe to the belief that their abilities can grow over time.

So which camp do you belong to?

If it is the first - and if you want to move to the other side, consider this quote from Dweck included in the article:

“People who believe in the power of talent tend not to fulfill their potential because they’re so concerned with looking smart and not making mistakes. But people who believe that talent can be developed are the ones who really push, stretch, confront their own mistakes and learn from them.”

(more…)

TAGS: change, creativity, life long learning, productivity, Risk-taking, support

The Wall Street Journal is all abuzz about Barbara Desoer who has recently been asked by Ken Lewis, Bank of America’s CEO, to take over its troubled mortgage business.  Not only is the mortgage lending business generally in trouble due to the state of the US economy but Bank of America’s mortgage business has the added burden of trying to swallow the problems of the recently acquired Countrywide Financial.  Carol Hymowitz’s Front Line blog asks readers to comment on their experiences regarding taking on high risk roles that have afforded them an opportunity to advance. 

One woman’s story (see the comment by risk taker)  reminded me about the glass cliff research I wrote about  a couple of weeks ago in conjunction with a post about Erin Callan.  While she writes that she did the right thing for herself and that it was worth it, she also describes her boss as “difficult”, noting, “when things went right he tended to take the credit”.   She also is very clear that there was a high personal cost. (more…)

TAGS: corner office, new to the job, playing to win, Risk-taking, The Wall Street Journal, women and careers, Women at Work, women leaders, women role models

While the food at the Chinese take-out restaurant we’ve been patronizing lately isn’t all that great, their fortune cookies are terrific.  My fortune the other night:

Doing what you like is freedom.  Liking what you do is happiness.

This bit of philosophy made me think of how very important it is to periodically reflect upon how happy you are with the work you do.  Of course, we all have bad days but, overall, you should be able to say that you enjoy the work you do - that, yes, it makes you happy.

If you can’t, perhaps it is a good time to figure out why - and then to change the situation.  Sometimes, you can negotiate for things that will increase your satisfaction, for example, a more challenging assignment or more resources to get the job done.  Or, if the problem is deeper, perhaps it’s time to make a different employment decision…

The main thing to keep in mind is that your career satisfaction matters most to you - nobody else, except perhaps your mom, cares that much.  Don’t let yourself down!

TAGS: career change, career goals, dealing with family expectations, Gratefulness, Leaving a bad boss or a job you hate, negotiation skills, personal brand building, personal development, ways to work healthy

Emotions ─ and our ability to control them ─ make all the difference in our negotiations.  And, the more important the negotiation is to us, the more challenging to manage our emotions.  I had a personal experience recently when my temper flared and, as a result, I didn’t get the outcome I wanted.  Yes, I knew better but still fell into the emotion trap.

Deepak Malhotra, Gillian Ku and J. Keith Murnighan’s Harvard Business Review article, “When Winning Is Everything” (May, 2008) discussed the problems negotiators face when they get so emotionally invested in besting the other party that their judgment suffers.  These experts isolate three drivers of what they call “competitive arousal”:

1. intense rivalry, especially when there is “history” between the parties
2. time pressure, a ticking clock increases anxiety
3. being in the spotlight, negotiating while others watch

Dan Ariely’s fascinating book, “Predictably Irrational” also discusses the risk we take when we underestimate the power of emotion; the decisions we make “in the heat of the moment” not only differ than those we make when we are cool, calm and collected but can get us in all sorts of trouble. (more…)

TAGS: business communication, competition, Dan Ariely, Deepak Malhotra, gaining confidence, Gillian Ku, Harvard Business Review, J. Keith Murnighan, negotiation skills, Self-trust

Erin Callan, the highest ranking and most visible woman on Wall Street, lost her job as chief financial officer at Lehman Brothers last week.  Suddenly.  The New York Times reported, “On Monday, Ms. Callan ended her call with analysts by saying, “I’m going to be happy to be back here talking to you again next week,’ she said.  On Thursday morning, however, Ms. Callan gathered belongings from her office and drove to her house in East Hampton on Long Island…”

Whether she was removed as reported by the Times or she voluntarily stepped down as the Wall Street Journal states, it is clear that she didn’t last long in the role.  Callan, a former tax lawyer and investment banker took the CFO job in December, 2007.  In an article for the Wall Street Journal last month, Suzanne Craig quoted Joseph Gregory, her mentor (who also lost his job as Lehman’s #2) as saying the company made a “leap” when it gave her the CFO job but that it wanted someone who could “really explain Lehman’s story.”

Have you heard of the glass cliff research?  It’s about the phenomenon that women are more likely to be appointed to leadership roles that carry a great deal of risk of failure.  It seems pretty clear that Lehman had some problems in December when Callan took the CFO role; the Lehman story she had to tell wasn’t very pretty. 

So what can we learn from this story? 

1. Don’t be too quick to say “yes” when an opportunity comes long.  Take some time to assess the situation carefully.
2. Don’t be seduced by the title or the trappings of the job. Ask plenty of questions including: “Why me?” and ”Why now?”
3. Think about the potential challenges you will face if you do take the job and figure out what you wlll need to mitigate the risk you face.  Then negotiate for that support and those resources.

It may be that Erin Callan knew exactly how steep the glass cliff was but the fall must still hurt.

TAGS: corner office, managing your career, Negotiation, new to the job, playing to win, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, women and careers, Women at Work, women leaders