Kadine Cooper, CPCC, also known as Coach K, is a certified coach, facilitator and speaker, specializing in empowering professionals and organizations to reach their full potential. With a focus on personal and professional development, Kadine leverages her expertise to drive positive change and growth.
Negotiators too often start their preparation focused on the opportunity right in front of them, such as a job offer, rather than on their ultimate work and life aspirations. As you enter a period of change in your career, you should think about your short- and long-term aims and then map backward from those objectives to define the next steps you want to take. Keeping in mind your ideal quality-of-life considerations as well as professional ones.
When it comes to career-related negotiations it is important to focus on the total compensation package, your role, responsibilities and career trajectory, not just your salary. When you’re seeking to advance your career by joining a different company or moving into a new role with your current employer, it’s important to think strategically about not just what you want, but how to get it.
- Think broadly about your long-term career goals instead of focusing narrowly on the offer at hand or the question of pay and benefits.
- Be mindful of what type of opportunity you’re asking for; something standard, an unusual arrangement for yourself or a chance to take your organization in a new direction and tailor your arguments accordingly.
- Arm yourself with the necessary information to reduce ambiguity about what’s possible and with whom to negotiate.
- Connect with people who can be helpful in making your case and approach negotiations as an opportunity to enhance your working relationships.
Although reaching an agreement on pay and benefits is important, failure to think more broadly about your career could mean losing valuable opportunities for advancement. For instance, women are increasingly urged to negotiate for higher pay to close the gender wage gap. However, studies have shown that women’s “80 cents on the dollar” is explained more by differences in men’s and women’s career trajectories than by differential pay for doing the exact same job.
Research and my work coaching executives suggest that negotiating your role (the scope of your authority and your developmental opportunities) is likely to benefit your career more than negotiating your pay and benefits. And at times of work-life conflict, negotiating your workload and the conditions that affect it (including your responsibilities, your location and travel requirements) may be critical to remaining gainfully employed and moving forward professionally.
When it comes to negotiations, professionals need to think strategically about not just what they might negotiate but how. That means going beyond planning what to say at the bargaining table. It requires keeping your eye on larger objectives, ensuring you are negotiating with the right parties over the right issues, and preventing misunderstandings from derailing your requests or proposals because they are unconventional or potentially pathbreaking.
Based on the current times we are living in, many people are changing how they work (shifting to remote or flexible arrangements, for example), what they are working on (being redeployed or responding to new priorities) and with whom they’re working (collaborating in new ways across functions and geographies). And transformations in our work lives are increasingly interlinked with transformations in our personal lives — whether that involves relocation decisions, periods of intense dedication to our jobs or adapting to spikes in caregiving demands.
To maximize your odds of success, set targets for yourself that are specific and realistic — and that help hold you accountable to follow through with your plan amid pressing distractions and demands. Too often, negotiations fizzle or never get off the ground because larger goals become buried by everyday work.
Someone once said “You have a book to write of your life. Don’t let anyone else write your chapters.” Which is great but it is also important to remember that great careers are not authored alone. Your narrative will be cowritten with work and life partners, and negotiation is at the heart of finding mutually gratifying ways for that story to unfold.