Leaked Coaching Memo: Strong Performer, but on the Low End of the Pay Band
How to ask for a raise thoughtfully, confidently, and collaboratively
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Today’s Level Up: Inside Executive Coaching scenario unpacks how to ask for a raise after finding out that you are a strong performer being paid at the low end of the band.
One of the most common career situations people run into is: They either step up to take on more responsibility or are asked to do so. Then, they find themselves working beyond the scope for which they are being compensated. They correctly see this as an opportunity to ask for more pay, but they are not sure how to navigate the situation.
The result is the uneasy feeling that they are being underpaid. But also an apprehension to ask for more money because they have not been formally promoted.
A Senior Manager at a Fortune 500 company faced this exact scenario.
He had been moved from a smaller team onto one of the company’s highest-profile projects, spent 90 days proving himself and getting great feedback on the work, realized he was on the low end of the pay scale / band, and now he wanted to ask for a raise without sounding entitled, aggressive, or transactional.
His question was:
“I was asked to switch to a critical project.
I accepted and am doing well, but I am also handling a lot more scope than before and I realized I am on the low end of the pay scale.
How do I go about asking for a raise nicely now that I’ve proved myself and they see I’m a key part of this project being successful?”
This situation is incredibly common and can actually be pretty simple to handle.
However, there are a few ways to misstep and accidentally get in your own way.
Most People Never Ask
The first way people get in their own way is by not asking.
You don’t get what you don’t ask for, and the first thing I told this leader was something that everyone should hear: