Last week, I facilitated a training for postdocs and graduate students on Negotiating Salary: Do’s and Don’ts. As I prepared materials for the session, I quickly rediscovered the importance of having the right negotiating mindset, which unsurprisingly mirrors the approach needed to create productive teams, foster effective relationships, and increase engagement and retention (the focus of most of my work).
Two aspects of the mindset that I shared during the session:
1. Be on the same “team”. Instead of considering your conversation partner as your adversary, work together towards common goals—in this case, the organization retaining or hiring an excited and productive employee, and the employee feeling valued and fairly compensated.
2. Maintain curiosity, and truly listen. While it is vital to share your perspective and requests, it’s also important to ask and to understand the organization’s needs, wants, and constraints.
Of course, we discussed the strategy and the core elements of negotiation conversations, including what to avoid and how to navigate through potential pitfalls. Ultimately, though, to reach a successful end, we need to live in the mindset of partnership, inquiry, and understanding, the same perspective needed to build positive relationships and transform culture.
Thank you to Molly and Melissa for inviting me; I always enjoy working with graduate students and postdocs and appreciate their insightful questions and engagement! I wish them all the best as they negotiate either a well-deserved raise or a robust package for a new job!