Page 219 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

200 • CEO Material: How to Be a Leader in Any Organization

I had the bulk of the work. I found out I was the lowest paid. That did
not endear me to management. I told my boss if we looked at
the situation on the basis of accomplishment, I deserved more. He
agreed and encouraged me to talk to human resources. I met with a
really nice man who explained I was already paid disproportionately
against the curve for my age and experience. They couldn’t justify
paying me more. It was their rules. He told me to hang in there, “You’ll
get older, and we’ll be able to pay you more.” I started looking for a
new job the next day.... I thought it was a bad idea until I had my
own company and had to make similar rules. I’ve learned there are lots
of good bonus plans, but none include a way not to pay money.

Inside your company, you’re evaluated based on formal and
informal assessments. The same is true when going outside. But as the
informal frequently supersedes the formal internally, when you are going
outside, the formal is much more prevalent.

I am my own impediment; I’m my own glass ceiling.
So an honest back-of-the-napkin review of yourself needs to be
done. “Do I fear rejection/failure? Do I fail to seek help? Am I too good
at what I do? Do people only see me in this niche? Am I not sure what
I want? Have I aggressively pursued opportunities? Have I marketed my
abilities? Have I failed to sufficiently promote myself? Are my family obli-
gations under control? Has shyness or being too direct hurt me? Have
I kept up with the right training/schooling? Do I delegate effectively?
Do I lack confidence? Have I done a poor job at developing contacts? Do
I have political awareness? Have I gotten exposure to other parts of the
business? Do I have weak presentation skills? Am I well known enough?”
These are all questions you need to ask yourself.

Sometimes the stars are not aligned in your favor.

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Sometimes you’re just not the “flavor of the month.”
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Sometimes your job is easy and you’re bad at it.