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Get the Raise You Deserve
By Bruce Elkin
"If I don't get more money, I'm going to quit this stupid job."
That's how a client described one of her important goals to me.
When I asked her if this was a new goal, she replied, "No. I always say that, but I never get the raise I want. It's not fair."
Fuzzy Goals Lead to Fuzzy Results
Client's often set goals such as, "get more money," "get a promotion," or "get a better job." But such statements have little power because they contain no clear criteria for success.
Unless goals are clear and compelling, they will not motivate or guide you to work on or achieve the result you want. To make goal-setting work for you, you must craft clear visions of the results you want.
Goals such as, "A salary increase of 15% by the end of this year," "Work as a sales rep in Hong Kong for a 2 years, starting in 2007," or "Regional sales manager by end of the year, specify measurable criteria for success.
Not only do such visions tell you what you want, they also help you be clear about where you are starting, which, as you will see shortly, is critical. Such clarity generates energy, and the power to actually create results you want.
Comparisons Lack Power
A major goal-setting mistake many people make is framing goals in comparison to something else. When you use comparatives such as more, less, improved, increased, decreased, etc... to describe goals, they lack clarity and power.
For example, if your goal is to be thinner, that is a good start. But to make that goal work for you, you must specify how much you want to weight. If you want an increase in your wage or salary, clearly state how much, by when.
The client whose goal was, "More money," directed a corporate fitness club.
When I chatted with her, I asked her what "more money" meant.
She shrugged her shoulders and replied, "More money!"
"How much more money?" I asked.
"Just more!" she said, getting frustrated with me.
I took a dollar from my pocket and handed it to her. "There," I said. "You have achieved your goal. You have more money."
She laughed a little and said, "That is not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" I asked.
She sat still, looking at her hands for so long, I thought she might leave. Then she looked up at me and said, "$10,000 more a year!"
She burst into a big smile, and said, "Wow! I did not know I was going to say that. But, that is exactly what I want. $10,000 will give me $45,000 a year, and parity with other club directors."
"So what you really want," I said, "is parity with the other directors?"
"Yes," she said.
Her vision of a raise became, "A salary of $45,000 per year, tied to the industry standard."
Ground Vision in Current Reality
As I worked with her to develop an action plan to achieve her vision, my client told me she was frustrated with her boss because he kept refusing her requests for a raise. "For no reason!" she insisted.
I urged her to examine current reality more objectively. When she did, she noticed a discrepancy between her and the directors of other clubs.
"They supervise more staff than I do," she said.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Well," she said, "Most clubs have more members than mine, between 200 and 400. They need a lot of staff."
"How many members do you have?" I asked.
"Fifty," she said, frowning. "Just me and an assistant run it."
"Does that tell you anything?" I asked.
"Yeah!" she said. "If I want to get a raise, I have to have more staff. And to get more staff, I have to get more members. Maybe I should do a membership drive."
Vision + Reality + Action = Results!
I helped her craft a vision of a membership drive that would bring in 100 new members. Then she took a hard look at her facility and the services it offered.
To close the gap between her vision and that reality, she improved the locker rooms, added massage services, and opened an hour earlier each morning. Over the following year she almost doubled her membership to 95.
At her performance review, her boss praised her hard work, recommended she hire another assistant, and offered her a 20% raise plus a performance bonus. Together, they totaled almost $10,000. She was ecstatic!
She also told me her boss said if she'd asked for another raise without showing results, he would have fired her. He was tired of hearing what he called a "victim story."
To Get What You Deserve, Get Your Goals Working for You
When I last heard, the fitness director was doing great. Her club had 300 members, and was among the top three in the city. She received raises and bonuses regularly-without having to ask for them.
All this from shifting from a fuzzy goal of "more money" to a clear vision of results, clarifying current reality, and taking actions to bring that vision into reality.
So, got a raise, a promotion, or a new job you want to get?
Why not do as the fitness director did, and get your goals working for you?
Clarify exactly what you want, by when. Then honestly assess where you starting from and what you have to work with. Set out some clear action steps and take them. Learn from your own experience. Follow through to finished results. And enjoy the rewards!
It worked for my client; it can work for you.
About the Author
Bruce Elkin is an internationally acclaimed Personal/Professional Success Coach. This piece is adapted from his book Simplicity and Success: Creating the Life You Long For [Trafford, 2003]. Contact him through his website: http://www.BruceElkin.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/26045.html
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