Solve (Almost) Every Problem In Your Career

Your presentation is due within 24 hours and you're working feverishly to complete it on time. With the coffee pot on warm and your mug half full, you haven't cracked your focus since 7:00 AM that morning—it's now 9:00 PM. Your exceptions were lunch and dinner, which both lasted all of 15 minutes. And you ate at your desk.

You didn't leave your desk because you're intense and don't miss deadlines. You command energy for the projects you lead and always deliver above what's been asked for. You're a valuable member of the team and contribute creativity, energy, and camaraderie. And yet, you're underpaid—you know this because you've done your research and your friend makes $10K+ more than you in a similar role at another company.

But you're confident you're doing as much, if not more, than your friend. So why are you underpaid? Why has your promotion been delayed twice? Why does your manager tell you Just hang in there. You have a bright future here, and yet, nothing changes?

Nothing changes because it's your problem—not your manager's.

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Companies, managers, and seemingly everyone in leadership roles complain of employee turnover, the absence of loyalty, and ungratefulness. And yet, ironically, many of these leaders have the same issues as the individual contributors they grumble about:

• Underpaid for their work contribution and level of responsibility
• Overworked without promotional opportunities, compensation, benefits, or visibility and recognition
• Do not feel valued by their manager(s)
• Haven't received the resources needed to accomplish their objectives—and because of that, feel overwhelmed
• Feel bored and stagnant in their careers and aren't fully invested in their work

So who are to blame: managers or contributors? Companies or teams? I don't believe it matters who are to blame—all that matters is whose problem it is.

The person who feels tension because of the problem is the one who reacts. Despite your manager sensing you're unhappy and frustrated, it doesn't mean anything will change. Why would it? It's not your manager's problem—it's your problem.

The strategy for solving your problems is taking full responsibility for them, brainstorming solutions, and carefully applying pressure where needed—and by pressure, I mean making your problem someone else's, too.

Nothing is accomplished without confrontation. If you're afraid of confrontation, people will walk all over you because you've trained them to.

But there's a strategy for breaking that training:

1. Choose which problem you're going to focus on solving.
2. Gather research, information, and resources to brainstorm solutions or provide a logical base for confrontation.
3. Write out all possible approaches to solving the problem.
4. Decide on one solution and resolve to do it.
5. Review your results and decide which problem to correct next.

Let's use an example: you're paid under the market average for your position, your annual raise is a meager 3%—or ~1% after inflation—and you're feeling restless. Right now, it's no one's problem but yours—that must change. (:

1. You're focused on commanding at least market average for your position.
2. You set aside five hours on the weekend for research. You find the average compensation ranges for similar companies and your industry. You highlight, evaluate, and cross-examine these positions' job descriptions and responsibilities. You compare your responsibilities and results to those solicited by these positions. You determine fair market value for your current work and responsibilities.
3. You craft different approaches for how to confront your manager.
4. You decide on your approach, draft your conversation points and research material, and pick a date.
5. You politely ask your manager if he or she will speak with you in private regarding your compensation. You do not make threats (e.g. I'm speaking with competitors; I'm looking at other companies; I have connections who will hire me for higher pay). Threats are not constructive. They're destructive. Your first approach should be warm and polite, yet firm—where you share your research, your dissatisfaction with your current pay, and your proposed compensation.
6. Ask for and welcome his or her thoughts and feedback. Remember, it's a negotiation with an objective of you're both happy (i.e. you receive your pay bump and your manager doesn't lose a valuable teammate). If nothing happens after confronting your manager, follow up. If still nothing happens after following up several times, consider new solutions (e.g. transitioning to a new company, receiving new certifications that command a pay increase, etc.).
7. Finish taking care of this problem. Choose your next target problem.

Acknowledging whose problem it is will help clarify your needed strategy. More often than not, you first need to take responsibility for the situations you find yourself in. If no one knows about your problem, nothing will change—change only happens through confrontation and applying pressure. Is it uncomfortable? Absolutely. No doubt. But for you to thrive in your career, you must train yourself to step into difficult situations and stand firm.

Training yourself to do this isn't easy, but it's important. Jim Rohn said it best:

Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. - Jim Rohn

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