CONFECTIONER AND FOUNDER, MILÈNE JARDINE CHOCOLATIER

Many of us view negotiation as a taboo, dirty word that implies those once in a blue moon, scary conversations that often revolve around money and get to the root of our fear of rejection.  In truth, negotiation is a skill that, whether we realize it or not, we use every day, all throughout the day.  We’ve put together 7 ways to improve your negotiations and shift your mindset towards embracing a very important life skill.

Very few people know that WIN Summit began with an initiative set forth by a male ally.  The founder, Jack Simony, saw that women were coming forth with unique negotiation needs that male-dominated spaces were not serving.  Over the past five years, WIN Summit has been working to help women strengthen their negotiation muscles to better advocate for themselves and help bridge the opportunity and pay gap.

This week, we commemorate Martin Luther King Jr., and celebrate all of his accomplishments. However, often overlooked are the accomplishments of his wife, Coretta Scott King. While their marriage has been a topic of much debate, especially since the release of Selma in 2014, they were both strong advocates for the Civil Rights Movement.

Welcome to 2020, where women outnumber men in the job force and yet, are still earning less than men on the payroll. Part of this pay disparity is because women are less likely to negotiate their salary. Whether you are starting a new job and have an upcoming salary negotiation, or are angling for a raise at your current company, here are some tips from WIN Summit Coach and Speaker Bonnie Marcus, that you can use to master your next salary negotiation.

FOUNDER AND CEO, PILOT KOMBUCHA

It was New Year’s Day but it felt as though it would be 2021 before the cashier in front of me finished ringing up my two shopping carts full of food.   We had just returned from a family trip and my two little girls were jet-lagged, cranky, and alternating between fighting with each other and whining to me that they were hungry and wanted ice cream - in no particular order, over and over again.   I felt a tidal wave surge inside. I wanted to scream and then go hide under a rock after having caused one of those “wow I’m glad those aren’t my children” scenes.

Why not take the time between Christmas and New Year’s to catch up on some reading, while polishing an essential skill?  If you are looking for a last-minute gift or trying to embrace some personal and professional development over the break, WIN has curated a list of 11 notable books on negotiation (by women) that are sure to help you start off the year on an empowered foot. 

I recently spent time with my cute-as-a-button, clever-as-a-fox 2 ½-year-old nephew.  During our time, I experienced things like Peppa Pig, Baby Shark (could have done without that), endless youthful energy, and personal longing for bed well before 7 pm.  In addition to caring for and shaping another human being, moms have their work cut out for them.

Today more than ever before, women are at the forefront and rising.  From the appearance of women-only co-working spaces, to the ever-increasing female-founded brands taking being launched, to the women’s march, and more women running for Congress than ever before, women are truly trending.  Yet, it can still be a struggle to find ways to empower other women in a more intimate way. 

OWNER AND FOUNDER, LELE SADOUGHI

This Thanksgiving season, we wanted to shift the focus away from negotiating with others, and onto negotiation with the self. We are constantly negotiating with ourselves: how we feel about ourselves, how we feel about the future, about our lives, about our partners, about our work, our friendships -- the constant conversations in our mind are micro negotiations that can exhaust us and leave us feeling depleted and depressed.

According to psychotherapist, Dr. Michelle Maidenberg, there are key ways to be a more effective and empathetic communicator. Although her advice is useful year-round, we hope these tips will help you communicate more effectively with your loved ones and spend quality time enjoying each other's company, rather than falling into the negative patterns of communication this Thanksgiving.

You’re sitting at the negotiation table, utterly frustrated as a colleague, or perhaps your boss, stubbornly clings to her position.  Downtown, a mother feels like pulling her hair out of her head trying to get her son to clean his room. Across town, a couple can’t agree on Thai or Italian.  We negotiate almost every day since, after all, conflict’s a part of life. And most of the time, we’re not even aware we’re doing it.  

PRINCIPAL AT DEWEY SQUARE GROUP

You know that moment - hands become sweaty, mouth suddenly dry.  You tell yourself over and over in your head to just say it. Just say it already.  It can’t hurt to ask. Speak up. And the sooner you say it the easier it will be.  Yet, the fear holds you down. You shrink back, trying to put the feeling out of your head. Pretending as if fear is somehow your friend, there to save you from embarrassment.  If only asking for what you wanted wasn’t so difficult. 

Sometimes life throws you a curve-ball and suddenly it may be difficult to make ends meet financially.  This feeling of losing yourself in a sea of debt is understandably terrifying and also more common than you might realize.   If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot make payments on debt or creditors are beginning to call, the first step is realizing there are solutions and that negotiation can help.  Here step-by-step guide for how to navigate negotiating debt to better equip you with the confidence you need to swim to the other side. 

In honor of Jessica Meir and Christina Koch’s groundbreaking first all-female spacewalk last week, in which they became the 14th and 15th women in history to complete a spacewalk, this week’s WIN Blog honors some of the most significant, but mostly unknown, women of NASA. Here are six female explorers, scientists, engineers and astronauts who forged the way for extraordinary women like Meir and Koch.

Photo Credit: Maria Kotyshova

The art of negotiation is a lifelong learning process.  Arming yourself with techniques and strategies can give you leverage in any negotiation, especially when it comes to pay.   

Here, we have compiled the top six practical tips to utilize the next time your salary is up for negotiation.

VP CONTENT STRATEGY, PAYSCALE