Own Your Work

Break the Cycle Under-Earning in Your Career

• Sonja Holmes

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What if being a high achiever and an under-earner were not mutually exclusive? What if the answer to breaking the cycle of under-earning wasn't just about shifting jobs, but about shifting mindsets? Welcome to a powerful episode of Own Your Work where we challenge these deep-seated beliefs and explore how to truly value your worth.

We're diving head-first into the demoralizing cycle of under-earning. We identify the common misconceptions, like the belief that volume equals value, and we discuss why strategic work matters more. Then we turn the spotlight onto tangible solutions. Learn how to be your own advocate and bring visibility to your work. Find out why strategic work trumps taking on multiple roles and how selecting high-impact projects that align with organizational goals could be your ticket to earning what you deserve. This episode is all about changing your perspective, redefining your work language, and owning your work like never before. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take control of your career and your life!

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https://www.sonjaholmes.com

Speaker 1:

Hey, friends, it's Sonia Holmes here, and you are listening to the Own your Work podcast, where I bring you some inspiration and some actionable steps to help you create your best work life. Yet you might be asking hey, sonia, what's my best work life? Your best work life is one that actually works for you, and you get to define it, friends, not me, you, okay. All right, friends, I just want to help you do that, and today we are going to be talking about a topic that I feel like is part of the mission, right? Which is money. Come on now. I think this is the first time we're going to dive into money, but we're going to talk specifically about how to break the cycle of under-earning. Let's get it, y'all. I want you to share this episode with a friend, okay, if you know somebody who is a high achiever and you know they should be making a little bit more right. If you know someone who is a high achiever and you know that they could be put in a better position, if you know somebody who can really benefit from learning a little bit about breaking the cycle of under-earning today, friends, go ahead, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. But anyways, I'm so excited to share this with you, friends. You want to know why Because, as I said, it is a cycle and I feel like we're going to get a little up close and personal, because I do have some personal experience with this.

Speaker 1:

Now, contrary to popular belief, you can be a high achiever and under-earner, because usually when it comes to under-earning, it's basically it means that you are making below your potential, right Below what you have the potential to make. So, and the potential is based upon your skills, the scope of your experience. There's a lot of things that comes to you know, defining what the potential is, but when it comes to under-earning, by definition it is simply earning below your potential. Okay, and because your potential is where your skills are, it's usually not a skill set gap, friends, when you're under-earning. A lot of times I've seen from personal experience and also from observations, that it's usually a mindset gap. So, friends, we are going to be talking about things that we can do to really break that cycle of under-earning, because, y'all, it can be demoralizing, because you know that you deserve more under-earning.

Speaker 1:

When you are in a position where you are overachieving and where you are giving a lot, you sometimes still feel underutilized and dissatisfied with work and it becomes this cycle and a lot of times what I've seen is that when people are in positions like this, where they are giving a lot, where they are high achieving, yet it's their work is being unnoticed or they're just not being compensated in proportion to the value that they're actually making and the impact that they're making at their jobs. What I usually see happen is a couple of things, but one very common thing is that I see people immediately want to leave their job and go to a next job and get that 15%, maybe 20% bump if you're lucky. But typically what I see is a lot of times that people think the answer is to just immediately leave your job, find a new job and that is going to solve all your under-earning problems. Now, if you're under-earning which means you are working below or you're earning below your potential, a lot of times a little 15% to 20% well, I won't say little, but a 15% to 20% pay jump, a lot of times it's not close the gap for what you should be earning. So under-earning is a cycle and if you try to solve that problem with the same mindset that got you into that place, a lot of times you're going to find yourself in that same position, just with a new employer, just a different scenery, but still under-earning, and in the beginning you might be excited about that new role, but as time wears on, you're dissatisfied again because you feel as if, and you know that the value that you are contributing is not really being compensated for.

Speaker 1:

So I want to talk about that and, as I said, yes, I believe that it really is a cycle, because it's a cycle that happens because of our mental blocks and because of our mindset, and that's why we're going to tackle the mindset perspective here. But what you believe it influences your behaviors and these behaviors. When you repeat these same behaviors, it becomes habits and these habits, they continue the cycle and it keeps us in the same place. So, in order for us to really make change and to position ourselves in the way that we want to, we have to learn and be aware of the mindset that got us there and then we have to disrupt those cycle by choosing new behaviors. So, basically, in a nutshell, we got to think differently and we have to do differently, behave differently, choose some different actions.

Speaker 1:

So I want to share with you a couple of common beliefs that I've observed, that I believed myself as well, too. That can cause us to accept positions or put ourselves in a position where we are under-earning Okay, alright. So one of the most common beliefs that you know I believed as well, too right is that if you do good work, your work will speak for itself and it'll open doors for you, which will lead to promotions and recognitions, and then you'll get the pay that you deserve. But it all starts with you doing good work. You do good work and you'll go off into the sunset and work happily ever after? Probably not right. That's not how we envision our happily ever after, right working. But you get the point right. What we're taught in school, what we're taught you know from that's passed down generationally is is that, hey, you know, put your head down, do good work, it'll get recognized, and then you'll get the pay that you deserve. But it all starts with you doing good work. And that is just only part of the equation, right, and I think a lot of times we stop there. But doing good work is table-stakes. That is the minimum requirement.

Speaker 1:

What we actually have to learn that's going to disrupt this is actually doing the right work. Okay, and what I mean by the right work. Doing good work is just, you know you're meeting your goals, right. You're exceeding your goals, maybe, right, but once you start doing the right work, you're starting to focus on high value, high impact things. Right, you're starting to focus on that type of work, on things that are going to really drive impact. So it's going to be beyond what your goals are. It's going to, you know, be aligned with organizational goals. Right, and let's be real, a lot of times the goals that you have they're set because you know it's going to, you know, roll up into what the organizational goals are. But what I mean by high impact is that, if you were to remove yourself out of the equation and when you've made an impact, it's almost like your legacy when you leave that role, this stays behind and it continues to make an impact because maybe you've shared best practices, maybe you've taught things to others.

Speaker 1:

There's a lot of different ways that you can make an impact. I actually created a whole list. I came up with like 21 ideas of how you can make an impact that work, 21 ideas of high impact driving, you know, projects and growth projects that allow you to use your skills or either grow, that's going to be high visibility and high impact. So I actually created a list so in your homescom 4 slash ideas and you could download it. But, in essence, doing good work is not enough. You have to learn how to do the right work. You have to learn what is going to be high impact, what is going to bring, you know, the most value, what is also going to make the biggest impact. And a lot of times when you're making a big impact which is going beyond your immediate goals, your immediate KPIs, things like that, when you're making high impact work, or when you are doing high impact work, visibility, you're going to have visibility. Go ahead, download that free guy that I have for you, because it does have like 21 ideas of things that you can do to really drive an impact at work, but essentially it's almost like your legacy. It is going to go beyond. It has a ripple effect when you are making high impact. So think about like even an example could be reducing a cycle time for something right. It could be improving a system that's going to save time for the company or save times for others. It may be improved efficiency and things like that. There's a lot of different things that you can think about or things that you can do that can really drive high impact. So what I want to encourage you to think about instead of thinking about, okay, I just need to do good work, I want you to think about what is the right work, what is the most efficient way, what's the most effective way? What is high impact work? What is the high impact project that I should be saying yes to right? Those are the things that are going to give you the visibility that you're needed, but it's also going to give you the impact as well, too. We want to make sure that we're putting high impact work into our portfolio.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I'll share an example of a time where I was in a position where I was under earning. I took off a couple of years to take care of the family, came back to work and I accepted a position that was lower than what I was being paid Before. I left the workforce right, and I accepted it for a couple of reasons. I'm actually glad I did, because I think it was very. It was like a catalyst for me to unlearn some of the things that I have that put me in that position. So I'm very, very glad that I did.

Speaker 1:

But conventional thinking or advice would tell you well, if you're underpay, don't work beyond your pay grade. You know, lower your hands, don't take on high impact work right, only work within your scope. But being strategic and doing good work would have been me just doing meeting my goals. When I was in that under-earning role, I actually said yes to high impact roles. I often did things that were outside of my normal scope because I knew that my title could change. I knew that someone can strip my title from me, they can strip my pay, my salary can change, all those things can be taken from me. But what they can't take is the experience that I've gained and for me, getting experience, certain experience, would allow me to have stories. So that way, when I met with an opportunity, I have the capacity and I have the ability to speak to that higher scope or the bigger scope that I've said yes to because I was looking to make impact. So now, when I'm in an interview, I actually have high impact stories that were beyond just the scope that I was in and it positions me to go to that next level or that next role, or to position myself for even you know an enhancement, advancement and enlargement and more money. Okay, so that's what it helps to do and I'm so glad that I did.

Speaker 1:

And that year, like I said I think I've shared with you all with this before, but you know I managed to triple my income. You know, from starting I negotiated an off-cycle pay increase because of the impact. I kept a list of the things that I was doing and the impact and how it saved the company money, the things that it did. So when I went to negotiate an off-cycle increase, I actually had a list of things that I did to save the company and save even other departments money. So I was really able to show that impact and the value that I was bringing, but, most importantly, by me raising my hand to those high impact roles, like even when I negotiated that you know, 15 and then that year began it turned into a 20%, but that still was me earning below my potential. So for me, the move, my next move, was actually going to be out and it wasn't just a 20% jump when I moved, but it actually was a significant increase because I had the stories to share that was aligned with the scope, that was aligned with my skillset. I didn't want to be underutilized, so I made sure that wasn't underutilized in that position.

Speaker 1:

So, anyways, I feel like that was a long way to say like don't just stop at doing good work. Find out what the right work is, and the right work is high impact work. So, in a nutshell, for high impact work, go to Sonyahomescom, forward, slash ideas, and I have a whole list of some ideas that you can think about for growth projects and just ways for you to drive impact at work. Okay, all right. So the next thing that I want to just touch on as well, too, in that same vein another really like common misconception, as I already mentioned is that your work will speak for itself. All right, we're told, just do good work and it will speak for itself.

Speaker 1:

Friends, I want you to learn this now. Your work will not speak for itself. You have to learn to speak for your work, okay. So what does that mean? When you speak for your work, you're actually learning how to show your work and show the value and the impact of it, so you're not just thinking about the results. You know like I my work resulted in you know X amount of revenue to the bottom line of the company. Right, that's the result, but you're actually thinking about the impact. What was the impact? Because of that, you know you want to think about the results. Then you also want to make sure that the work that you are doing, it didn't happen by chance. You want to show that it's repeatable and scalable. Those remember those two things, because, when it comes to speaking for your work, you have to learn how to articulate how you got there. You have to learn how to articulate you know your successes, the results that you got and the impact that you are making. So, friends, I want to tell you this right now the common misconception that keeps us stuck and under earning is this belief that our work is going to speak for itself. It doesn't. Your work does not speak for itself. You have to learn to speak for your work. That is articulating the value and the impact that you're making. That is articulating how you got there, showing that your work is repeatable and scalable. That is high impact work. High impact is repeatable and scalable. So I want you to think about that, and I want you to think about this as well, too If you don't speak for your work, no one's going to know it and not to be like rude or anything I don't even know what the right word is for it but no one's really thinking about you and the work that you're doing. Even when you're meeting you can be number one on the metrics board and things like that no one's really thinking about you that much.

Speaker 1:

You actually have to be the advocate for your work. I mean you have to speak up for it. You have to know how to, in your one-on-ones, talk about the work that you're doing, because, guess what, everybody's caught up in what they're doing. So you have to be strategic with taking those moments that you have one-on-one with your leader that you have, and bringing visibility to the work that you're actually doing. Sometimes people don't even know about the wonderful work that you're doing. So use your one-on-ones, leverage that and speak for your work. Talk about the great work that you're doing, bring visibility to it and talk about not just what you're doing, not just the good work, but talk about the impact that it's making. So that second one was basically the nutshell your work. It does not speak for itself. You have to speak for your work. Now.

Speaker 1:

The next misconception is that in order to earn more and really break the cycle of an earning. You have to just do more work. There's this idea that volume equals value. Volume does not equal value. So if you're doing the work of three to four people and you think that that's going to get you more money, it might get you a little bit more maybe, but you're not going to get paid for three to four people. I'm telling you they don't have it in a budget to pay one person three or four times salary. So volume does not equal value.

Speaker 1:

And I really want to caution you even with that, thinking that, okay, well, the way that I work, I can work like three to four people and that's how I sell myself. I don't want that to be your value proposition that you can do to work with three to four people, because if you are, then you will never be paid for the value of the work that you are bringing because they're not going to pay you for three to four people. But I want you to again start thinking about the right kind of work that you can do, not volume, not taking out more, not taking on the role of three to four people right, but what is the most strategic work that I can be doing? What is the work that I can be doing to actually drive impact. That's what you need to be thinking about, right, and they're not teaching you this, like in school. They don't teach us that. They tell us to do more work, take on extra projects and extra credit and all these different things and that'll get you the better grade, but a lot of times, it doesn't translate in the work world like that. So volume does not equal value. Okay, you might get a pat on your back, maybe a little bit more, but they will not be to pay you for three to four people. Baby, do not do the work of three to four people. That will lead you to burn out. Instead, start thinking about what is the right work that I can do, what is the right things that I should be saying yes to? What are the high visibility projects that I should be saying yes to? You might even be to negotiate some of the things. That's within your current role, to get those off of your plate so that you can say yes and have the capacity to do more high value, high impact work.

Speaker 1:

But I want to tell you that volume does not equal value, and maybe there might be some times in our careers where we have to take on more. That's normal. That's going to happen every here and there, but I do not want you to think that is your value proposition. I call it the sell out the CELL. Like, if that's your value proposition, where the way that you sell yourself in an interview or the way that you sell yourself for that position or that raises well, I come early and I leave late that CELL right. Come early, leave late. That is not your value proposition. Do not let that be, because the only thing that is going to lead you to is burnout. I want to encourage you to start thinking how can I make high impact? How can I do the right work? What is the right work that I should be focusing on? And again, go to Sonyahomescom for slash ideas. I have a whole list of just ideas that you can like growth projects and things that you can work on that is going to give you more visibility and make a greater impact at work.

Speaker 1:

Now, finally, the last thing that I want to say and I know that I might get some slack for this, because I know that this is an unpopular opinion. You're going to hear a lot out there, especially when it comes to negotiation. This is what people are telling you. You need to know your worth. And I want to say something, friends, that's not the answer, right, because here's the thing an employer can never pay you your worth because you are worth more than a paycheck. An employer cannot pay you your worth because your worth can be compensated for with a check or with zeros. There's no amount of zeros that is going to pay you your worth. Your worth is way beyond that. But instead, the shift that we have to have is okay, how do I look objectively, and what is the value of the work that I'm bringing? You want employers to pay you for the value of the work that you're doing, not your worth, because they will never be able to do that. If you think that there is a number to put to your worth, I'm curious of what that number is and how you got to that number, because I don't think there's a number to quantify your worth. And you might be saying well, sonia, when I say my worth, knowing my worth, I know that it's different than my work and things like that.

Speaker 1:

Language is so important and I think, in order for us to really disrupt the cycle of under-earning or not really earning to our full potential. We have to change our language as well too, because it's all a feedback loop, right? The things that we speak. It's coming from the things that we believe. The things that we believe. It influences our behaviors, our behaviors repeat, it creates habits and it forms cycles. So your language is so important, at least for me.

Speaker 1:

When I started to do my inner work and when I started the process of doing the work and getting clear on what I wanted to make, how I wanted to earn and what I wanted work to look like and feel like for me, I had to do a lot of just work and I had to realize that my worth an employer could never pay me that. And once I did that, I'm not saying that it removes the emotion from it, because anytime we talk about compensation, I talk about comfort and living, right, there's so much emotional weight that comes with it because we have so many different stories and narratives that's attached to it. But once you can become more objective, you'll probably get more because you understand. You're going to take yourself through a process of quantifying the value of your work, right, you're probably going to do more due diligence or understanding. Okay, what does the market pay for this skill set, for this type of scope, right? Things like that is going to help you bring more factual data points to a conversation when it comes to negotiation.

Speaker 1:

And one of the most important things that's more important than you quote unquote knowing your worth in negotiations is actually knowing the worth of the job. Those are two different things. Okay, ask yourself, instead of like what my worth is right Because you can say, well, it's six figures or 120 or 140. I want to tell you, like, if that's what you call your worth, know any number that you are putting to your worth. You are cutting yourself short. Let's separate our language, right?

Speaker 1:

Instead, I want to encourage you to ask yourself what is the worth of this role, because anytime you come in the other frame, you're probably going to be leaving money on the table. So what's really important for you to know is what is the worth of this job that I'm interviewing for or that I'm considering? What is this job worth right? What is the range? What is the budget for? What is your target budget for this role? What is this job worth? What is the market paying for it? Those are, I think, even more important questions that you should be thinking about versus what is the number that I can put to like my worth, right, maybe think about what is the value of my work? Not your worth, but like if you're putting a number to like the work that you've done. But I just want to say this whole know your worth when it comes to negotiating will have you leaving money on the table. Okay, you are worth more than a paycheck. Don't worry about that. Keep those things separate. You want to know what is the job worth? What is the market paying for your skill set? What is the scope? You want to take all those things into consideration.

Speaker 1:

When it comes to compensation, y'all, I feel really passionate about that, right? I don't know. I feel like that we're so much more than a paycheck and there's so much more to you than the work that you do. So that's something that I think, even when I started my journey, I really had to separate and I had to realize that my language is so important and how I'm showing up to certain kind of types of conversations and what were the most important things that I needed to know. So, anyways, friends, I feel like I just dropped a lot and I've probably been talking a little bit too long. But I really want to just share those common beliefs, because once you know the common beliefs that are probably influencing the way that you're thinking, which is influencing the way that you're behaving, which are becoming your habits, once you know what those are and you're aware of it, you can do the work to unlearn those things, to think differently, to do differently, so that you can disrupt those behaviors and break that cycle of under earning.

Speaker 1:

Like y'all, I want that for you. I want you to be earning and I want you to maximize your earning potential. And it really does start with mindsets Not to get all wooey and gooey on you, but it does. A lot of it is mindset. When I worked with people, I've realized that it wasn't the skill set. They had the potential, they had the skill set, they were operating in that scope. It was the mindset and actually certain things that we are taught, that we have to unlearn.

Speaker 1:

I hope you found this helpful. I know I went on a little rant, but I hope that you found this helpful. If you did, please do me a favor. Share it with someone. Share it with someone who you feel can benefit from this as well, too. I feel like this is part of my mission, part of my work, is to help you create your best work life. Yet, no matter how much you enjoy your job, if you are not making the money that you should be making in proportion to the value that you're contributing, it is demoralizing and you will not be satisfied. I want you to have a work life that is fulfilling and satisfied. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this episode. Make sure you go to sonyahomescom.

Speaker 1:

Forward slash ideas, have that free 21 growth, high impact projects and ideas that I have for you. Don't do them all. Choose one. Choose one and start making the biggest impact that you can and start earning the money that you deserve. Friends, all right, okay, I'm going to wrap it up now. I've been talking a lot. Until next time, friends, you already know there's so much more to you than the work that you do. Own your work, don't let work. Own you. All right, friends, until next time. Bye.