Are you worth your paycheck?
Every person is paid for the economic value that they bring. While nothing is more visual than a salesperson earning commissions for bringing in a new deal, the same principle applies to every worker. That salesperson can’t close the deal without the right products and services on offer, the right tech setup to enable the deal, the right finances, the right team.
Everyone is part of a larger mechanism, one that thrives when everyone excels at their chosen specialty.
But how do you excel at what you do, and get paid for it?
Do More of What Matters
Every day you do something valuable. But, you most likely also do some low-value activities too. Attending meetings that you shouldn’t be at. Answering unimportant emails. Taking long-winded phone calls.
Those low-value activities detract from the value that you bring to the organization, and thus detract from your value to the organization.
Do you want to be more valuable, to demonstrate that you are worth more than your current paycheck?
The answer is simple - find the activities that are high-value, and do more of them. Increasing the amount of time spent on high-value activities will increase your value.
What Activities Matter?
The big question that comes up in my team when I recommend to focus on high-value activities is always; what activities are high-value?
The answer is of course different for everyone. For a salesperson, high-value is spending time talking with prospects. While low-value is actually dialing the prospects. The difference? A thousand dead-end calls won’t stack up to one good conversation.
Or a consultant - delivering a proposal to a client is high-value. Recording time-sheets or answering emails, those are low-value activities. Too much time spent on those will erase the gains made by billable time on a project.
While every organization has a mission and vision, every department has KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) that drive that goal. Understanding what your department's KPI’s are is essential to actually delivering that value.
Is your work directly related to a KPI for your department and/or company? If yes, it’s probably high-value and you should double down on that. If not, it is likely busy-work, and ultimately detracting from the value you could be bringing.
But, My Priorities Aren’t My Own
The biggest hurdle that needs to be overcome, especially by those early in their careers is that they often don’t have a say in what they do. Those roles where you have to “put in the time”.
We all have bosses, and sometimes our bosses tell us to do things that aren’t driving value. Nobody is perfect, right?
What should you do in those situations?
Sometimes, you just need to suck it up and get it done. But do it quickly, so you can get back to the real value-add activities.
What Are You Worth?
Decide what you want to be paid. Maybe it’s $100,000 / year. If that’s the case, you need to generate $50.00 per hour in value for the 2,000 standard working hours each year.
If you can do that, you’re already worth 6-figures!
Now look at where you’re actually spending time. Did you go for an extended coffee break? Minus the cost of those minutes. Checked Facebook/Instagram? Give some of that 6-figure salary back. Attended a pointless meeting? Sign the check back to the company.
And those tasks over which you have no control? They cost you as well. To make up for that, you need to have a few hours where your value is far greater than your desired rate.
You are paid for the value that you bring to your company. Want to race up that ladder, and become more valuable at work? Spend more time on the most valuable activities, the ones that drive success for the business or department KPI’s.
Just remember, for every minute that you spend not delivering the value you want to be paid for, you need to make up. Either in higher value activities, or by working more hours. And if you want a life outside of work, I’d focus on those higher value activities.
If you want to be more successful in your career, make sure you spend the most time possible doing the things that prove you’re worth more. The more value you add, the higher rates you can charge. And that’s something you can take to the bank.