Latest news with #leaders
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Salary Negotiations Uncover A Company's True Priorities
Salary negotiations reveal more about a company than you think Congratulations, you received a job offer! Now comes the exciting or fear-inducing part, depending on your perspective, salary negotiations. While the job interview can reveal a lot about a company, how an organization acts in discussing compensation gives insight into broader implications about the company. Here are three key takeaways you can learn from how an organization handles salary negotiations. Salary Negotiations Reflect A Company's Willingness To Compromise And Listen Salary negations are an early opportunity to assess how a company responds when you express a need or set a boundary. Throughout your career, you'll need to say 'No' or push back at times. The salary conversation offers a first glimpse into how that dynamic might play out. A healthy negotiation isn't combative; it is a dialogue aimed at aligning the needs of the prospective employee and the organization. Thoughtful hiring managers understand this and welcome the conversation, especially for those coming from unique career paths. Good leaders want candidates to feel confident and excited about accepting the offer. Pay attention to how the company responds in negotiating. If they are unwilling to discuss compensation or will not budge in their offer, it may signal a disregard for individual needs. How a company handles salary negotiations often sets the tone for future conversations around workload, growth, and job satisfaction. How Much They Value You Feeds Directly Into Salary Negotiations Compensation structures can vary. Some companies prioritize high base salaries, others emphasize bonuses, equity, or robust benefits. How open a company is to modifying your compensation can reveal how much they value your expertise. Hiring managers that are receptive to counteroffers indicate that they view your skills and background as valuable and are eager to bring you onboard. Yet, many prospective hires are fearful to negotiate their job offer. According to a 2023 study by the Pew Research Center, 60% of U.S. workers did not ask for higher pay when they were last hired. This same study highlighted how this is money left on the table, as 66% of those who negotiated their salary received an increase. Exceptional leaders understand the far-reaching impact of top performers and seek to meet their needs. High-performers accelerate team output, inspire colleagues, and bring forward ideas that drive efficiency and innovation. These high-achieving employees deliver strong results. Great leaders recognize the ROI in offering a competitive compensation package. Resistance to any salary negation can indicate a lack of understanding of your value and potential. Flexibility in salary, bonuses, stock options, or professional development financial support demonstrate a commitment to long-term employee growth. Companies resistant to an offer increase may require you to repeatedly prove your worth just to be seen. Salary Negotiations Reveal A Company's Culture And Communication Style The way a company handles salary negotiations offers valuable insight into its broader workplace culture and communication norms. Note if they are collaborative and respectful or dismissive or defensive. The tone and clarity of these conversations can mirror internal decision-making and communication within the organization. Workplace culture can change for the better from within, but it is difficult. Thoughtful responses, clear reasoning behind compensation figures, and the willingness to discuss alternative salary benefits highlights a strategic, people-first culture. On the other hand, vague explanations or rigid policies may suggest pay inequities, poor planning, or a top-down management structure. Be sure to ask how salary ranges are determined. Inconsistent answers could indicate pay inequity or disjointed internal processes. Openness during the salary negotiate process hints at an empowered and adaptable workplace where individual needs are taken seriously. Salary negotiations are about more than just numbers. It offers critical insights into the organizational culture and how a company views its employees. By paying close attention to these cues, you can make informed decisions not just about the offer, but also about the kind of workplace you will be stepping into.
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Want To Get Promoted? 5 Ways To Fast-Track Your Path To Leadership
Demonstrate your leadership capabilities today for a promotion in the near future. Whether driven by the desire for greater income, impact, or personal growth, stepping into a leadership role is a common aspiration for many professionals. While it is not the only path in career advancement, subject matter experts and high-performing individual contributors are critical to every organization, those aiming for a leadership promotion can practice specific habits today. Here's five practical strategies you can implement now to fast-track your path to leadership. Be Known As 'The Ideas Person' Innovation and leadership go hand in hand. Great leaders are often expected to find unique ways to solve problems and improve how work gets done. Consistently developing and sharing new ideas establishes you as a trusted source of fresh thinking. Ideas do not always have to be groundbreaking products or services. Process improvements, improved communication tactics, or new task management tools all bring value to an organization. When presenting an idea, go a step further by outlining how it could be executed and potential barriers to success. Not every idea will come to fruition. However, being known as someone who generates creative solutions not only makes you an invaluable resource to your department, but also fosters a leadership mentality. Create Safe Spaces For Communication Leading people means listening to their needs and creating environments where employees feel comfortable expressing themselves. The 2024 Work in America Survey by the American Psychological Association found that 97% of employees who felt psychologically safe at work reported high satisfaction with their leader. Team members should feel confident that they can voice both ideas and concerns without being judged, dismissed, or criticized. Start building this skill now by practicing active listening, providing thoughtful feedback, encouraging new ideas, and taking concerns seriously. Employees need to see their leaders take action, offer guidance and solutions when appropriate. Advocate for those who may struggle to speak up and create opportunities for colleagues to share their opinions. Allyship is essential across all roles and departments. Leaders have a direct impact on the career progression of their direct reports. By championing and supporting your coworkers today, advocacy will be a natural part of your leadership style when you step into a formal management role. Forecast The Future While the future is never certain, strong leaders anticipate what might happen and plan how to respond. A key element of leadership is connecting small details to the bigger picture and understanding how they influence one another. Do not wait for the formal leadership title to adopt this mindset – you can practice this in your current position. Forecasting the future involves considering possible outcomes, preparing risk-mitigation strategies, and identifying ways to capitalize on new opportunities. Think about both external and internal factors that could affect your work. A shift in client needs, emerging technologies, and staffing changes all can impact your current work. It is just as important to plan for potential successes as it is for challenges. Leaders constantly think several steps ahead. By regularly sharing how actions today could affect results tomorrow, you demonstrate strategic foresight - an essential skill to carry into any future leadership role. Be A Connector As a leader, you will be advising and collaborating with individuals across levels and departments. A main aspect of leadership is bringing people together to deliver a quality product or service. When challenges, bottlenecks, or conflicts arise in your current work, consider who within the organization is best suited to help resolve them. Facilitating connections between colleagues who may not regularly interact can lead to faster problem-solving and build knowledge-sharing across the organization. As a manager, employees will continuously seek your help and come to you with questions. Good managers are self-aware, recognizing when the answers lie outside their own domain. Knowing when and how to connect people is crucial to success and is something you can practice today. Embrace Ambiguity Leaders are often looked to for direction, even in the face of uncertainty. Embracing ambiguity with confidence that solutions will emerge, even if they are not immediately clear, is a critical mindset being successful. The only constant in life is change. Individuals must navigate reorganizations, executive leadership shifts, evolving team dynamics, or new processes. One of the most valuable leadership skills is guiding others through transition. Instead of resisting change, approach it with curiosity: ask questions, seek understanding, and be open to new protocols. Mid-level leaders, in particular, are often responsible for interpreting and implementing organizational changes in ways that resonates with their team. Actively participating in shaping your own workflows, as well as those of your team and department, builds your ability to manage ambiguity and fosters resiliency. Taking on a leadership role is a big responsibility. How a leader chooses to engage with their team directly influences employee performance, morale, and work delivered. It is critical not to wait for a formal title to start building leadership skills. By developing these traits now, you position yourself, and those around you, for long-term success. Strong leadership starts well before the promotion.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thailand, Cambodia Agree to Cease-Fire After Days of Deadly Clashes
The cease-fire came after five days of conflict over Thailand and Cambodia's disputed border. President Trump told both leaders that a cease-fire is a condition for further trade talks. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Thailand, Cambodia Agree to Cease-Fire After Days of Deadly Clashes
The cease-fire came after five days of conflict over Thailand and Cambodia's disputed border. President Trump told both leaders that a cease-fire is a condition for further trade talks. Photo: Mohd Rasfan/Reuters
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Business At An Inflection Point: Will You Evolve Or Reinvent?
Business At an Inflection Point: Will You Evolve or Reinvent? I believe we're witnessing a pivotal inflection point in how businesses operate. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not merely a tool for optimization; it stands to reimagine how enterprises function. The question we've been discussing frequently with leaders is: Are you going to add AI to what you're already doing and evolve, or are you going to reinvent how you operate altogether? From what I've seen, AI's influence can be observed along a spectrum. At one end, companies are evolving and implementing AI to improve. It augments existing technology stacks and advances the performance of current systems and platforms. It streamlines workflows and enhances operational throughput. At the individual level, it serves as a co-pilot, amplifying the productivity and decision-making capacity of employees and teams. But it's at the far end of this spectrum – reinvention – where I believe the most profound potential lies. Here, AI surpasses enhancement and becomes transformation. It enables enterprises to fundamentally rethink core business processes, functional domains, and even the structures and strategies that underpin the organization itself. Why Reinvention Is So Hard – and So Important Reinvention is the most daring and potentially the most difficult to carry out. It requires a commitment to doing things differently. One of the significant challenges we encounter in our client discussions is helping leaders envision and anticipate what reinvention will look like. Many executives struggle to picture how transformation will take shape within their specific context. They're often weighing the consequences of taking a more incremental path, evolving existing business processes or functional areas rather than fundamentally rethinking them. This is a natural and important consideration. If there is a viable path to evolve the current structure, it often requires less disruption, carries lower risk, and is generally easier to implement. However, you still need to anticipate what that evolutionary path entails. It requires readiness to make tough calls and to invest capital and effort where needed. Companies will need to navigate complex choices around technology, talent, and change management. And they must be able to justify those decisions through tangible outcomes and sufficient returns. As the old saying goes, the juice has to be worth the squeeze. Still, there's a real risk in avoiding reinvention altogether. If there's potential to completely rethink a process or function – and we ignore it – we're exposing our business to being left behind. In my view, most companies that delay reinvention will eventually be forced into it – under far less favorable conditions. Building Scenarios: A Strategic Imperative At Everest Group, we've uncovered a powerful technique to help leaders navigate this uncertainty: build forward-looking scenarios for both evolution and reinvention. For evolution, we ask a series of key questions to explore this potential path, such as: What would the business model look like? What are the benefits and required investments? How should the tech stack and people model adapt? What would be the consequences of an evolutionary path? And finally, what are the signals that suggest the industry is trending in this direction? For any forward-looking projection, the further we look out into the future, the more uncertainty we face. It's much like standing on a horizon; the closer the objects are, the clearer you see them; the further away, the more indistinct they become, and the more you don't understand the context around them. We must constantly monitor new information and adjust our scenarios as the landscape shifts. These scenarios should be viewed not as a definitive prediction, but as our best current understanding of what the future is likely to hold. As we move forward, it's essential to continuously monitor the signals that reinforce this view, while staying alert to emerging signals that may introduce new variables or shift the trajectory. It's a continuous, forward-looking vehicle that we need to build. The reinvention scenario also forces difficult but necessary conversations. We ask: Why do we believe this business function can be reinvented? What is the evidence supporting it? What technology and talent shifts are needed? What is the impact on our customers and internal stakeholders, and what are the cascading consequences? Developing both scenarios in parallel has helped organizations evaluate which path aligns best with their goals or whether a dual-path approach is warranted. However, every firm, until it moves to a reinvention, will be on an optimization or an evolutionary trajectory. One thing companies will have to answer is whether evolution will become reinvention over time, and whether they will have the time to get there. This approach also allows executives and their teams to make more informed decisions about which path to pursue. And, by continually monitoring key signals, they can build confidence in the direction they're taking and generate the conviction needed to align stakeholders and secure the necessary investment. At Everest Group, we're actively developing forward-looking scenarios across a wide range of business processes and functions, and creating industry-specific forward-looking models tailored to sectors such as healthcare, oil and gas, and banking. These frameworks are proving to be invaluable in helping organizations navigate this critical inflection point with greater clarity and purpose. Considerations for the Path Chosen As businesses look ahead and use these scenarios to guide their strategic choices regarding AI, it's essential to thoughtfully consider the following factors that will influence which path they ultimately pursue. For customer-facing functions, we often see that the existential threat to the company will not come from failing to evolve. It will come from failing to reinvent. If a competitor reimagines the space and successfully brings a disruptive model to market, think the iPhone, they are no longer just losing share. They are at risk of losing the entire business. If, however, reinvention is not the path and the path is evolution, failing to keep pace may result in losing ground, but it is a slow erosion, not a collapse. You can still gain or lose share, but the company is unlikely to be phased out. Likewise, for internal-facing functions, reinvention is less likely to redefine an industry, but it can dramatically shift the economics. If a company's competitors can operate the same functions at a fraction of the cost because they have reimagined how it works, they will widen margins, increase profitability, and potentially shift valuation multiples. This is not an existential threat, but it is a structural one. And over time, it compounds. What's at Stake? AI is going to change how we operate our companies. That's not up for debate. The real question is whether we will meet that change with incrementalism or ambition. In many cases, the answer will be both. We will evolve some functions. We will reinvent others. In my view, the key is knowing which is which – and making that choice deliberately.
