Don’t Always Ask For More Money….

I heard an amazing leader speak in Nashville last year. She runs one of the most incredible non-profit associations in the city, is an incredible leader, woman of faith, and overall someone I really admire. She spoke on a panel with other city leaders to an audience full of female executives. She said something that I’ve always thought, but didn’t necessarily articulate. She said, ‘I never asked for more money – I always asked for more work – and somehow, the money just came.’ BOOM – there it was. I have personally worked with so many young, talented, inexperienced professionals who think they deserve much more than their experience and value demand. People don’t pay for your time – they pay for your value. END OF STORY. You have two, three, even FOUR years of experience and you want to get paid for every second of overtime? Everything you do that deem isn’t in the realm of your ‘job description?’ PEOPLE ARE WATCHING YOU – they NOTICE YOU. Your hard work will pay off. It kills me inside when a young person says or even insinuates that they are not going to do something in their job description…pay your dues, prove your worth, gain the experience, build your value. It eventually pays off.

Now, do you need to share your value? Ensure you’re being seen without being ‘selly.’ YES! Should you prove yourself? YES! Should you ask for more work before you get the promotion? YES!

You don’t know anything yet – learn. Build your knowledge base. You don’t deserve the exact same monetary value as someone who has been doing it for 10 years. Life doesn’t work that way. Does that mean you can’t learn TEN TIMES FASTER? You absolutely can – but that means you need to do more than the rest. I have advocated for pay raises for many clients to their leaders – – all ages. If you are one and you’re reading this; you KNOW this to be true! I believe in financial reward, but I believe in taking on more first.

Hard work builds your personal brand. So do the WORK, and share your VALUE – both are necessary for success. Don’t ask for more just because you think you deserve it…you may not know anything yet.

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