I had an interesting call with a contractor today. I said "you're really good at the numbers/analytical side but there are two sides to this: Numbers and emotion/storytelling. If you were as good at the storytelling as the numbers I'd pay you twice as much. And if I'd pay you twice as much I suspect any other employer would too." The contractor seemed to be very surprised. "Really? Can I bring this up in the future when I want a pay raise?" "Absolutely. I'm looking high and low for people who can do both numbers and storytelling."
Is this surprising for you to know? I'd be interested to find out. Maybe I haven't communicated the need to tell stories well enough (for other contractors they have the most room to grow on the numbers side, but that's for another post). And of course Numbers+Stories isn't everything you need: the trifecta of any candidate is skills (in this case numbers+stories), work-ethic/energy/enthusiasm and integrity. The bare minimum is skills. But without work ethic all the skills aren't put to use. But integrity is the most important. A person with skills, work ethic and no integrity is a dangerous person that I run away from.
But back to the point. This contractor could double their pay in 6 months if they put their mind to it. Or it might take 10 years (or never happen) if they don't.
But all this philosophizing does you no good without some course of action so I'll tell you that right now.
Here are a few things to read that will change the way you tell stories (and yes, if you apply them, double your pay at the very least--not only will your base pay rise, but you'll win more funding which is money in your bank)
This is a variation on a theme we use at our organization - our version is we all need to be prepared with 'three threes' - 3 facts, 3 stories, and 3 things you want a new friend/donor/guest to know about our organization. You never know if someone is a data person, heartstring person, or structure person so you need to be prepared to engage everyone who visits. Work ethic and integrity are essential for moving the whole initiative forward. Thanks for the reminder.
This is a variation on a theme we use at our organization - our version is we all need to be prepared with 'three threes' - 3 facts, 3 stories, and 3 things you want a new friend/donor/guest to know about our organization. You never know if someone is a data person, heartstring person, or structure person so you need to be prepared to engage everyone who visits. Work ethic and integrity are essential for moving the whole initiative forward. Thanks for the reminder.
Am learning a lot from this, especially for someone like me who is poor in storytelling.
Thank you.