Her Place at the Table: A Woman's Guide to Negotiating Five Key Challenges to Leadership Success, Completely Updated

Negotiating for Leadership Success

Although women make up greater than 50% of the workforce, their representation at the highest ranks still lags.  Part of the challenge is that what we call ‘second generation gender issues,’ which means that stereotypes about the way women should and do behave in the workplace are still operative. As a result, women have to negotiate if they want to succeed at any level of leadership.  Here are some of the situations that call for negotiation.

1. You are offered a job in your company that you would rather not accept because it takes you away from the career track you are pursuing.  Yet, your boss expects you to say "yes".  What can you do? 
   
   You can negotiate to make the offered role fit better with your aspirations by discussing the time you are expected to remain in the new role, asking about the opportunities that will follow, and making sure that you have the resources and support you need to succeed.. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than simply acquiescing to a job you don't want.
   
   
2. There is a job you do want, and for which you are sure you have the skills and experience.  Yet you are not being considered.  What can you do? 
   You can negotiate for that opportunity by making sure making sure people know that you want the job and that you understand the criteria that will be used for selection , learning more about your competition (who is it? What experience does he/she have? How does it compare to your experience?) and enlisting allies to help make your case (the right people can suggest that you be considered and explain why you are a good candidate and why your competition might not). 
   
   
3. You do a lot of what we call ‘invisible work,’ mentoring other women, training other colleagues, recruiting top talent.  This work is time consuming (and not part of your job description!)  yet you get no credit for it.  What can you do? 
   
   You can negotiate to claim value for this work by figuring out what your contributions have meant to the bottom line. Do the math -- for example, what would the company have had to pay to hire a coach if you hadn't acted as a mentor?  How much would formal training have cost? Who would have handled the recruiting if you hadn't?    It all adds up — and should be factored into your performance evaluation.
   
   
4. You are the ‘fixer,’ the person who always seems to be asked to turn around projects that have run off the tracks.  These are risky propositions because any change can breed resistance.  What can you do? 
   
   You need to negotiate strong backing and support for your change agenda from those whose opinions count.  You can ask them to do some explaining about why your plan makes sense and how they will benefit when it succeeds. You need to plan to achieve some small wins as soon as you can to gain credibility for your plans.
   
   
5. You have been asked to take on new leadership role and it would  be a stretch.  You know people will not be sure you are up to it and you are concerned that questions about your authority will undermine your agenda.  What can you do? 
   
   You need to negotiate first to have your boss make the strategic case for you (why you were selected and how your experience qualifies you for the role).  You also need to get her commitment   to show her visible support of you on ongoing basis.   Second, you need to ensure that you have the resources needed to get the job done. . Leaders without resources don't get respect.