Dear Dr. Lisa:

I have a friend who needs your advice. She and I work together and she does an excellent job. We had some people leave, and our manager has asked her to fill in. She has picked up the additional role and delivered better than the folks who used to do it. I have encouraged her to ask the Manager for the role permanently, and the good thing would be, this is a higher-level role. Instead, the Manager has continued to hold her accountable for both roles and has not made any salary adjustments. She has not asked them, and is instead planning to leave. Am I wrong to encourage her to ask for more money?

 

Dear You Already Know:

I am not sure you need me. It sounds like you have given your friend great advice. Great employers reward great performance. If the employer is not willing to reward great performance, then it reveals the culture and the character of the organization. You can spend a lot of time trying to figure out why or you can accept that what you are seeing and experiencing is real and make a decision about what is best for you.

Now, it is true that managers often learn at the expense of their employees on how to manage well. Mistakes will be made. It sounds like the manager is making a rookie mistake in not doing everything possible to reward and retain this employee. If you felt like you could have influence, you could consider speaking up on your friend’s behalf. After all, if they leave, that will impact you and the rest of the team. Determine which leader will be most open to your observations and offer them your confidential observation.

That is the best you can do. If they take action, there is a ton of hope. If they do not, then more learning must take place. In the meantime, you and your friend will need to determine where you can develop and grow in an environment that supports great performance and recognizes that performance with great reward.

Dr. Lisa

P.S. Your theme song is, “Confident” by Demi Lovato.