Uncategorized

Take a quick look at the options below.  Choose one from each set of statements.  At least 51% of the time, do you tend to be more:

__tactful and diplomatic	or	__direct and frank?
__apt to avoid conflict where possible	or	__apt to meet conflict head on?
__empathetic	or	__analytical?
__accepting at first	or	__skeptical at first?
__apt to take things personally	or	__objective about criticism?

If you’ve chosen more items from the left column, research shows there is a high probability you will be underpaid by at least 25% of your true value.  This is not because you lack drive, skills, commitment or talent.  Chances are you are simply not asking for your due. When first interviewed, you probably liked the job and/or found compatibility with your future boss and colleagues.  So when a reasonable number was offered, you accepted it rather than creating conflict by pushing the envelope and asking for more.  Later, at review time, you also were less likely to be aggressive about demanding a robust raise.  Companies need to focus on the bottom line and will offer the minimum.  It is easy to accept the offer to maintain harmonious work relations. After all money is not everything!  But this does not have to be your ongoing fate!

You need to learn from those who choose more items from the right column.  These individuals are typically paid more, often not because they produce superior work, but because they know their worth and demand to be properly compensated.

So if you are in the group on the left, which makes up 50% of the population, and 65% of women, what can you do about it?

1. Research Your Position.  Search salary websites, and talk to people who are in similar jobs.
2. Determine Your Priorities. Salary, bonus, vacation, health benefits, technologically advanced equipment, a supportive boss, freedom, and meaningful work are all priorities that are individually sensitive.  Perhaps you cannot push on the salary, but you can increase the value of the overall package.
3. Get Organized.  Make a written list of your skills and achievements. This will give you the confidence to present these in a coherent way and to highlight your past contributions.
4. Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse.  You know the old saying, “Practice makes perfect.”  The confidence gained through rehearsal will decrease your anxiety and allow you to remain confident and focused.  As a result, you will be less likely to fold early on in the salary negotiation process.

Avoid the costly mistake of starting your career being underpaid.  Know your worth and demand to be properly compensated.  Your future career and financial success depend on it.

Your approach to money and salary is one of many factors covered in Shoya Zichy’s Color Q Model and new book, Career Match: Connecting Who You Are With What You’ll Love to Do.  Others factors include your work-related strengths, ideal work environment and boss, range of suitable careers, entrepreneurial style and interview and job search style.  For further information, visit www.ColorQPersonalities.com.

Better Balance = Wiser Choices

By Dr.  Mary Lippitt

There are no shortcuts to long-term success, and that’s why balance is critical when it comes to the mindset of a leader.

The recent worldwide recession has definitely impacted leadership thinking patterns. As many leaders seek to resolve internal issues through cost-cutting strategies, organization flattening and process streamlining, they must also work to focus on external issues, striking a critical balance between the two mindsets of the brain – the left, geared toward creative planning, and the right, geared toward risk management and protection.

There are no shortcuts to long-term success, and that’s why balance is critical when it comes to the mindset of a leader. Yes – it may look easier to cut costs, reduce headcounts or defund programs, but such actions almost certainly have implications. For instance, I recall a firm whose leadership chose to cut its marketing staff and budget only to discover a promising new product shortly thereafter. Although those cuts were made to protect the company, they actually hurt the company at the end of the day, because the launch of a highly anticipated product had to be delayed. Instead of panicking in an effort to protect, a wise leader might have focused on strategic creative planning that would have kept that marketing team, or some form of it, in place.

In my latest book, Brilliant or Blunder: 6 Ways Leaders Navigate Uncertainty, Opportunity and Complexity, I discuss why it is critical for leader’s to maintain a strategic balance between the two hemispheres of the mind. The three mindsets of the left hemisphere are:

• Inventing: New products
• Catalyzing: Customer satisfaction; Market share
• Challenging: Preparing for new and future business models

As a leader, the left hemisphere mindset may come easy to you, but it is critical to maintain a balance between the left and right sides of the brain. So, while your left side is working furiously to prepare a new business model, the right side of the brain is tasked with removing risk and maintaining the status quo. The three mindsets of the right hemisphere are:

• Developing: Organization policy and structure
• Performing: Quality, cost and ROI
• Protecting: Collaborative culture, high-performing talent, succession planning

Just as you need to balance short-term goals with long-term opportunities, the Yin and Yang of these hemisphere focal points are continually shifting. Walking the tightrope between them requires wise decisions based on clear insights into present circumstances and an awareness of past traditions. With those in place, you can look forward to a sustainable future.

Remember that wise decision-making about hitting a single home run. Instead, it’s about effectively juggling various options and making the right decision in a way that will deliver results the right way.

About the Author

Dr. Mary Burner Lippitt, award winning author and change management expert provides businesses, teams and organizations with practical and effective solutions to navigate the modern business climate. She is the author of the award winning “Brilliant or Blunder: 6 Ways to Navigate Uncertainty, Opportunity and Complexity” She has helped more than 6,000 leaders around the world implement change, develop executives, refocus teams and improve leadership. Dr. Lippitt has been recognized as a leader in the execution of change, leadership development and strategic alignment for over twenty-five years. She is also co-author with Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey and Brian Tracy of “Discover your Inner Strength.”