Imagine being over 60 and starting a job search. You have decades of business experience. And you are worried that when you network or apply for jobs you will be viewed as overqualified or too expensive.
 
Imagine finding an employer that looks at your age and experience with joy. They view your work ethic, ability to be flexible, and confidence to be just what they need. They know you will be a great role model to others on the team.

Gartner conducted a survey in 2022 and this was one of the findings. Another was that employees who perceive their pay as unequitable have a 15% lower intent to stay with their employer. They are also 13% less engaged at work than employees who perceive their pay as equitable.

So, the perception of unfair pay impacts retention and engagement.

You’re one of the employees who didn’t get laid off. You are worried about your workload now that you’ve lost colleagues. What will be added to your workload? What will be deleted (if anything)?

What are your employer’s priorities now?

When an employer decides to lay off employees, they are often trying to reduce expenses. You are a number on a spreadsheet. It is cold and calculated.

As the leaders decide how to communicate to the employees who are being laid off, they can choose to treat you like a number or a person.

Can you explain what you do in one sentence?

How long have you been doing this?

Do you like what you do?

I don’t like meetings. There. I said it out loud. Or it feels that way given that I am posting this on social media.

(Big sigh.) And yet I do see the value in SOME meetings. I just wish there were fewer meetings and that they were effective.

A recent coaching client shared that this was her goal. So, I asked some questions:

1. How long have you been performing your current job?

2. What performance feedback have you received from your manager?

3. Do you have the skills and experience needed to be viewed as qualified for the job you want to be promoted to?

If you ask this question ideally your manager will say, “Just a second. Let me look that up for you. (Pause) Here it is. It is $X - $Y - $Z.”

But realistically your manager’s internal dialogue will probably be something like this:

“Some people could be given an entire field of roses, an only see the thorns in it. Others could be given a single weed and only see the wildflower in it. Perception is a key component to gratitude. And gratitude is a key component to joy.” —Amy Weatherly

Our brains have been hardwired through evolution to focus on the negative. Focusing on what is bad helped us survive during prehistoric days.

I used the term PITA when talking to my daughter today. She asked what that stood for. Pain. In. The. Ass.

I was referencing someone that drains my energy when I interact with them. And yes, I took some time to reflect on my own behavior and thinking because I know I can be a PITA too.

Today I was reminded to always watch to see if someone’s actions match their words.

I had a Director level coaching client share a story about their VP today. There has been a reorganization. The VP no longer reports to the CEO. She reports to the Head of HR now. The function the VP oversees is now not directly at the table with the executive team. Oh, oh.

What do you do when your manager says this after asking for a promotion and pay raise?

First, you take a deep breath. Next, you ask, “Tell me more. What do I need to do to be considered for a promotion?” Then, LISTEN and take notes.

Every time I hear that question, I think of my financial investment strategy. But there are two more investment strategies to consider:

1. How are you investing in yourself?

It is easy to default to adding something in order to solve a problem. For instance, your closet is messy, so you install a closet organizer to make it easier to find things. Instead, you could have subtracted things from your closet.

You have a conversation with an employee and realize they are burned out and overwhelmed. Their performance is suffering.

Not always.

Years ago, my VP told me I couldn’t rate two of my team members as “exceeds expectations.” I could only give that rating to one person. I argued and I lost.

It is revealing a little or a lot about how much you pay your employees.

Partial Pay Transparency:

• You share a job’s pay range when it is posted. You share pay ranges with managers for only the jobs their team performs. You share ajob’s pay range with the employee that is performing that job. You share some (but not all) of the market pricing details for each job.

We trade our talent, expertise, skill, effort, and results for money. We do that as employees, and we do that as entrepreneurs or business owners.

It is a transactional relationship.

Imagine being a business owner. One employee can build your product in two hours, and you make $20 in profit.

Next imagine that you develop a premium product. It takes four hours to build, and you make $22 in profit. Do you have your employees build the premium product?

I’m reflecting on how I have spent my time in the last year and what marketing tactics worked and which ones didn’t.

There are some things that I need to no longer spend time on if I want to maximize my ROI.

So, that has led me to create a Stop List.

The new year is about to begin and for many it means setting new year’s resolutions.

But there is a secret I want to share. You don’t have to wait until January 1st to start. If you want to change something, each moment is an opportunity to begin again.