HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself and Your Career 6-Volume Collection

Be Your Own Best Advocate

by Deborah M. Kolb

MOST SEASONED MANAGERS know how to handle formal negotiations at work—with clients over contracts, with bosses over budgets, with employers over compensation. But what about all the opportunities for informal negotiations that arise? Do you know how to recognize and seize chances to move into a better role, change an untenable situation, or ensure that you get credit for extra work?

In the 35 years I’ve been studying negotiation and coaching executives, I’ve found that many people don’t. Consider the following examples:

Charlotte, a sales manager, learned through the grapevine that a regional role was opening up and wanted to be considered for it. But she’d also heard that another candidate, whom ...