Show Me the Money

"Show me the money Dan. Show me the money and I'll show you what I can do." I sometimes hear that from non-management people attending our supervision programs paid for by their company. Of course they never say it in public, just at break or after class when no one else is around. In their minds they think they have lots of talent. They just hold back on using it because they don't believe they get paid enough.

How very sad for them. They fail to appreciate that their company has chosen to invest in their education, presumably in the hopes of a opportunity for that person in the future. Instead that person discounts the opportunity by holding back, believing that if they were paid more they'd be more interested in showing their company what they are really capable of doing.

The fact is that successful companies pay for performance. And people who want to get ahead in those companies know enough to put forth a solid performance, strive to go beyond expectations, always take advantage of every opportunity to learn new things, and make sure they put the company's best interests first. People who take this approach make themselves valuable. At some point the smart company will recognize that value in the form of promotions and other opportunities to increase compensation. And if for some reason the demonstrated talent isn't recognized in an appropriate way and in at appropriate time, the unrewarded person can always leave, and take their demonstrated talents and solid work ethics to a company that does value performance.

I realize for many readers that I am "preaching to the choir." But in addition to the talented managers who read these posts, I also hope the blog attracts people who want to get ahead and wonder why they don't. For that audience, I write this post.


About Pelleyblog: Pelleyblog is designed to be a resource for supervisors and other first line managers, as well as other people interested in management topics. Currently most of our readers are from Rhode Island, Central Massachusetts and Eastern Connecticut. But everyone interested in management topics is welcome.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
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