The More You Sweat In Training, The Less You Bleed In Battle
Though I am pertinently anti-violence, I do love this quote so much because of the deep truth it shows.
Us women, we don’t get a lot of practice in negotiating growing up. We are supposed to play by the rules and “play nice”. This doesn’t teach us the skills and behaviours we need to become effective negotiators who can ask for and get all the things we need, want and deserve in our careers and lives.
And because we lack that essential life skill that the boys naturally acquire through years of pushing their luck (fighting with their friends, bragging whose father has a bigger car, asking the girls out), we don’t negotiate our salaries when we enter the work force. We are grateful for the chance we’re given, and expect that if we work hard and show our value, we will ultimately be offered a salary matching our epic-ness.
But we all know by now that that never happens, right?
So we are going to need to ask, if we want to stop our (male) colleagues getting promoted ahead of us, or if we want to stop leaving millions of dollars on the table over the course of our career.
And that is where training comes in. Because we do not magically turn into negotiation bad-asses from our starting point of rather going to the dentist than asking for what we’re worth. We need to get practice, LOTS of practice.
Practice is the best way to get good at anything, and negotiation is no exception.
Through (sweating in) practice, you’ll gain the confidence you need to step up and ask. And through (sweating in) training, you’ll get clarity on what works and what doesn’t work in negotiation. You will end up the confident (non-bleeding) ass kicking queen that you are when you step into the battle you have prepared for so well.
That is why negotiation practice (through role plays and negotiation challenges) is an important part of the Women In Negotiation course. If you’re interested in learning more about this online group coaching program, do reach out for a free discovery call to see if we can help you step into your awesomeness.
Pinky promise there’s no actual blood involved 😊
Book a call with my team for a free coaching session and let’s see what we can do for you!