NEGOTIATE TO GET FACE TIME WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Too many of us forget that negotiating doesn’t stop when you get that plum job (or even not so plum).  Saavy women understand it’s just the opposite.  Indeed, how well you ‘dare to ask’ once you’re operating within the tent can be even more important than getting inside the tent in the first place.

As executive coach Ann Daly notes, moving forward in an organization depends on how well you mobilize resources to accomplish results. “As your career develops and you begin to manage a project or a team beyond your own tasks, you’ll need other people to buy in an lend a hand.”

Translation: you’ve got to become good at persuading people to do what you want without losing their support.

There’s an art to doing this with maximum effectiveness.  In Ms. Daly’s words, among the things you’ll need is  a ‘developmental network’, a network of people who can help you grow and develop greater skills.  All organizations are inherently political, there’s no way to avoid it.  So the challenge is to be politically shrewd enough to put in place buffers to protect you from the storms and catapults to launch you over the barricades.

Which is where negotiating comes in.

“Who you know determines what you get to do and what you get to do determines what (and who) you know.  Competence and expertise are not developed in isolation.  They are developed in interactions with others.”

As you go about your daily tasks, keep in mind the trajectory of your career.  Negotiate to get assignments that bring you into contact with people who can teach you those skills that enhance your value to the organization and facilitate your ascent.

Negotiate to get face time with people who can help you grow!