Sing Your Own Praises

I was settling down to work after the morning household rush, and got a call from one of the kid's carpool drivers. My first instinct was to think, "Oh no, what happened?"

I quickly called the dad, a neighborhood big wig who knows all the right people, is president of all the local boards, a lawyer, and the host of great music for the upcoming turkey trot. I of course did not want to look bad in front of such a powerful person. I went on the defensive, "So, what terrible thing did he do today?" The dad laughed and said he was calling to say how nice it is to have my son part of the carpool.

What? Someone calling to say positive things? Unheard of. And it made me think. In the work world, you are rarely told about your accomplishments. And when you are accomplishing things, don't you want people to find out about them?

I'm prepping right now for a talk at Women for Winesense. The roundtable discussion I am presenting at is about salaries. I was going over the topic with the host, and asking about the audience. Women for Winesense is an industry group that meets regularly at various wineries and discusses different topics. My presentation will be for several women winemakers. Topics that I'll be bringing up include salary surveys, salary negotiation, performance reviews, promotions and severence packages. One reason the roundtable was proposed was because several of the women wanted advice on negotiating their salaies and to make sure they were being paid what their male counterparts are.

This was an important piece of information for me in preparing my topic. I deal with salaries all day, every day--and have always been up for negotiating my own salary. But many women aren't comfortable addressing the issue, and many times leave money on the table.

What does this have to do with my carpool call this morning? It reminded me that unless you sing your own praises, most of the time no one else will. Women generally are great communicators, but not braggards. It is not ladylike. Going into salary negotiations or performance reviews women need to be ready to talk highly of themselves. When you are preparing yourself, write down your accomplishments, and be ready to speak to them. Although you may think everyone knows it was your actions that caused a great outcome, make sure you mention it. Having these items in your mind, you should feel more confident, and realize you are a major contributor to the organization. No manager wants to have you leave, or not take the job. They will want to compensate you fairly, so that you are happy and want to stay with the organization. And most likely compensate you better.

Thanks for the call Peter!

When You Receive a Promotion

Years ago I received a highly coveted promotion that required me to oversee a branch that I had left years before. Although I felt a bit like General Douglas MacArthur returning to the Philippines, I wondered what was expected of me in the new post. Recently I read a very insightful article by James E. Challenger of Challenger, Gray and Christmas, Inc. Mr. Challenger is President of one of the top executive search firms in the country, and an industry expert. He had some very useful advice.

When you are given a promotion, your company has certain reasons why they chose you over other employees. And when you are put in the position, it is up to you to figure out what needs to be done, and execute quickly. Some questions you should consider are:
Is there a problem to be fixed?
Am I maintaining a department or region?
Do they expect me to completely recreate the operation or start from scratch?
How will success be defined?

When you are given the promotion, people who will be reporting to you will be anxious about what changes will occur. As Mr. Challenger points out, until these people find out what is in store their performance will suffer. So it is advisable to quickly let everyone know what your expectations are. This will allow you to set course quickly, and avoid having to refute rumors that get started. Be quick and clear with your leadership plans to avoid problems.

Once you are working on making your changes, support your staff and get them working on your side. Support risk-taking. If you have staff members who are willing to try something new, even if it doesn't work--you will have staff who are willing to support you. Also give your staff a chance to get to know you through informal gatherings where they are able to ask questions and learn from you. If you nurture an environment of learning and change, your staff will help you realize your goals.

If you have been promoted up through the ranks you face a unique challenge. While your role changed, so did the dynamics of the relationships you had with your colleagues. People you used to work side by side with are now reporting to you. You have to decide if they will be your allies or your adversaries. Although you may not think so, you do not need to be liked by everyone. You want to build trust and respect, and show your employees that you value their contributions. This will give you a hard working staff.

Now the tough part. If anyone on your team can't support your transition, you may have to let them go. It's never fun, but part of the job.

And don't apologize for getting the promotion. Your hard work and talents got you there, now put your experience and commitment to work to bring you more success.