How much should you be paid?
How much are you worth?
What should that pay be based on? Longevity in your position? Years in the industry? Your level of education? The ability to demonstrate your skills with measurable results?
Here’s an important, alternative question: How much are you worth on the open employment market right now? If you went out today and interviewed for a new job with your current education, provable skill sets and past performance metrics, personal leadership abilities, and communication skills … not to mention a professionally impressive resume and solid past employment recommendations… how much would another company or practice be willing to pay to get you on their team? That is your value on the open employment market because it is exactly what it would cost me to hire someone with a similar set of skills, experience, and talents. Your value is not what you are currently making nor what you think you should be paid. It’s what the market will pay for your skills and provable expertise.
When the LionSpeak team is hired by an owner or manager to coach their team on communication and/or personal leadership skills, we sometimes experience resistance, pushback, or half-hearted attempts at learning and mastering the skills. Fortunately, we’ve been doing this long enough to not be deterred and to anticipate these initial reactions. We begin our coaching sessions with not only the “why” behind the improvements but, even more importantly, the compelling reasons why the professionals themselves would want to engage, focus, and put their all into the training.
Imagine you suddenly found yourself looking for a new job. After interviewing with lots of companies, you’ve finally found the one that seems like an amazing opportunity, meets all your requirements, and feels like a perfect fit. But you aren’t the only candidate they are considering. As a matter of fact, it has come down to you and one other highly-qualified individual.
Luckily, you have some aces in the hole. You can lay down half a dozen mystery shopper call reports where you received perfect scores. You can show growth conference reports where you identified areas you wanted to improve, the ways in which you did, and the subsequent growth challenge you then took on. You can show how your metrics improved over time and outline what you did to reach your benchmarks and goals. When you are tested with challenging scenarios and asked how you would respond, you not only slay the dialogue but can explain the rationale and frameworks behind it. You can easily offer how your position connects to and supports the success of all others on the team. You convey an educated understanding of the role your position plays within the overall structure and profitability of the business. You are curious about the current statistics of the business and are able to offer smart ideas about how to bridge any gaps or reach the desired goals. You masterfully demonstrate how you handle conflict, manage challenging personalities, strengthen positive culture, align with the company’s vision and values, and actively contribute to innovation and creative solutions. It is evident that you are a problem solver, critical thinker, voracious learner, team player, and professional who is personally accountable for results. You are believable when you say that you yearn for continuous growth opportunities, love challenging the status quo for a better, more efficient way, and take pride in becoming the employee that every business fights to hire and the one they fight to keep.
At LionSpeak, we know that our coaching programs and training must help the business grow and make sense for their bottom line. As an employee who is asked to receive this coaching, that goal should be the same for you and reason enough to give it your all. But, even if it didn’t positively impact the business, another (potentially more compelling) reason would be that you have a unique opportunity, paid for in full by your current employer, to learn and master skills that are incredibly valuable on the open employment market.
Consider your value as a commodity on this open market. Do you have a competitive advantage? Can you demonstrate the skills required and desired by employers in order to invest in you and pay at the top of the scale? Have you mastered the technology, education, mindset, attitudes, and communication skills (both with clients and team members) that would set you apart from others in your field? If not, why not?
Do it for your company, and most importantly, do it for yourself as a career professional who takes pride in their contribution, work, and impact—and one whom employers are happy to pay at the top of the scale.
“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”
~ Jim Rohn
