Inside the Room Where Comp Gets Decided

It’s 9am and you’re in your best headspace of the week. At 9:05, one line from your boss lands: “Can we talk today?” By 9:06, the strategy doc is closed and you’re rereading the email for clues.Nothing about your skills changed in those six minutes. What changed is which part of your brain is running the show.In this episode:Why one email, one comment or one layoff rumor can feel like a threat to your survivalWhy you don’t climb Maslow’s pyramid once, but slide down it and climb back up all dayHow to spot where you’ve slipped at work: feeling threatened, worried how others will react, or feeling overlookedThe quickest move I know to get back to your best thinking from each oneHow to build your climb-back plan before year-end reviews, calibration and comp conversationsJoin me live: Master Your Mindset My final masterclass of 2026. Friday, November 20, 11am ET. Free and open to everyone. Save your seat: https://cherigregov.com/mindsetResources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook including my leadership style profilerRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersWatch: Success Without The Burnout Masterclass & Courageous Conversation ScriptsMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Ep 9: Stop Time TravelEp 17: People PleasingEp 39: Executive PresenceEp 85: Increasing Your Visibility AuthenticallyEp 94: Horror Story or Victory Story: You ChooseEp 113: To Moonshot Or Not: Use The Big Goal For You, Not Against YouMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

Most managers walk into calibration ready to protect their team. But a team member who’s later surprised by constructive feedback was never protected.  In this episode, I walk you through leading calibration with kindness and candor, through the story of a client who expected to be the stickler and walked in with a plan instead. In this episode:Why “they’re all our people” is the best way to open calibrationWhat a rating is, and what it isn’tWhy the bell curve isn’t a quotaWhat to ask if no one on your team is rated below “meets”The overload test and the surprise testHow to run the session, starting with your top performersWhy an honest Meets Most Expectations is a giftWhat to listen for if you’re the one being ratedA word-for-word script for delivering an Meets Most ExpectationsResources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook including my leadership style profilerRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersWatch: Success Without The Burnout Masterclass & Courageous Conversation ScriptsMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 99 - Leading Through The Forced Bell CurveEpisode 90 - Eliminating The People Manager TaxEpisode 28 - Managing Underperformers Up or OutEpisode 45 - Delegate to EmpowerEpisode 47 - Getting Your Team Member Promoted (And When Not To)Message me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

By the time you hear your number, comp was usually decided weeks earlier. So the conversation that matters is the one you have now.In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of comp season and show you how to make your case while decisions are still being shaped. Whether you're making your own case or advocating for your team, you'll leave with a clear plan for the next two weeks.In this episode:The six comp myths, from "I'm not senior enough to raise it" to "it's a meritocracy, case closed"Inside the room: a largely set pool, peanut butter vs pay for performance, and why your peers matterHow to advocate for your teamWhat total comp includes beyond salary, and the terms to readEight next steps for the next two weeksA word-for-word script to open the conversationThe mistakes that cost people, and what to do when the number disappointsResources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook including my leadership style profilerRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersWatch: Success Without The Burnout Masterclass & Courageous Conversation ScriptsMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 23 - Get Rewarded HandsomelyEpisode 24 - Secure Your Next PromotionEpisode 30 - Managing UpEpisode 78 - Know Your Audience And Engage ThemEpisode 73 - Compensation Outcomes As DataMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

A big goal can light you up and freeze your team at the same time. One client's team sat in analysis paralysis over a moonshot goal for 15 years. In this episode, I share how he finally got them moving, what I learned from using moonshot goals against myself in my own business, and a way to set goals that keeps visionaries, connectors, thinkers, and managers all in motion.What You'll Learn From This Episode:Why the same big goal energizes one person on your team and shuts another down.Why SMART goals leave visionaries and connectors cold, and why moonshots do the same to thinkers and managers.How to set good, great, and exceptional levels so missing the moonshot doesn't feel like failure.Why a pilot is easier to commit to than a moonshot, and how one client used it to move a team that had been stuck for 15 years.What to track each week so you measure what you control, and what to make of a miss.If a big goal has ever worked against you or your team, this episode gives you a way to make it work for you.Resources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook including my leadership style profilerRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersWatch: Take Charge Of Your Career Masterclass In 3 Vital StepsMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 91 - AI Is Here, Keep Calm & Innovate OnEpisode 80 - Make Powerful DecisionsEpisode 67 - My Signature System: Leading Your Business And Your PeopleEpisode 52 - Self Efficacy & Taking The HillMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

"If you want it done right, do it yourself. If you delegate, you lose control of the quality, unless you micromanage." Most leaders would call that an oversimplification, and yet it’s the assumption running in your head, even now. In this episode, I show you how to delegate for excellent results, without lowering your standards and without the work boomeranging back to you.What You’ll Learn From This Episode:Why “if you want it done right, do it yourself” is an assumption running in your head, even as a leader.The difference between perfectionism and control, and why control is often what’s behind taking work back.Three ways delegation goes wrong: work that comes back at 60%, a team member who asks for the work but can’t deliver it, and fire drills that arrive with no context.How to define success so your team can recognize 100% without you.Why you should hand over an outcome, not a task, and what your team should own once you do.What to decide up front: what your team can decide on its own, and the three questions to ask at every check-in.A real client story on doubling her team without giving up her standards.Delegation is also what frees up your time for the strategic work only you can do.Resources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook, including my checklist for making your team an assetRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 99 - Leading Through The Forced Bell CurveEpisode 90 - Eliminating The People Manager TaxEpisode 28 - Managing Underperformers Up or OutEpisode 45 - Delegate to EmpowerEpisode 84 - Radical Candor In Goal Setting ConversationsMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

Most of us were never taught how to manage the stream of calls, emails, chats, and meeting requests coming at us every day, so we default to being endlessly available, and wonder why we can't find time to think. In this episode, I walk through exactly how to build a communication system that protects your time, without making you harder to reach for the people who actually need you.What You'll Learn From This Episode:Why being highly responsive can inadvertently stop the people around you from becoming self-sufficient.How to set your own order of preference for email, chat, phone, and meetings, and train your team and colleagues to use each one correctly.A practical daily rhythm, including protected time for your highest-value thinking before anyone else's requests can touch it.The real research behind why constant task-switching degrades your performance, and what to do about it.Scripts for handling vague requests, drive-by visits, fire drills, and the one VIP exception worth making.If you've ever taken a work call somewhere you truly shouldn't have, in the car, at dinner, yes, even in the restroom, this episode is for you.Resources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook for career-critical momentsRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersWatch: Take Back Your Calendar MasterclassMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 8 - Conquer the CalendarEpisode 36 - Multiply Time, Energy, Wealth, Health, & SuccessEpisode 42 - The Most Valuable HourEpisode 49 - Increase The ROI In Your Work For More Impact In Less Hours and Stop OverworkingEpisode 58 - Free Up Time For What's Most ImportantMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

"Be more strategic" is some of the most common feedback received by businesspeople, and some of the least actionable. In this episode, I break down exactly what it means, the six habits quietly keeping you reactive instead of strategic, and the fivethings to start doing instead to actually expand your impact.What You'll Learn From This Episode:Why staying busy with reactive work can feel productive while actually blocking the strategic thinking your role needs from you.Parkinson's Law, and why work expands to fill whatever time you give it, unless you set real bounds on it.How to stop being the bottleneck your team quietly depends on, and teach them to lead without you in the room.Why stepping back into individual contributor work, even to help, can undermine the very team you're trying to build.A practical framework for turning a big vision into daily habits and metrics your team actually lives by, not a mission statement no one remembers by March.Whether you've received this exact feedback and didn't know where to start, or your work has started to feel like Groundhog's Day, this episode explains what to do next.Resources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook for career-critical momentsRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersWatch: Take Charge Of Your Career masterclassMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 91 - AI Is Here, Keep Calm & Innovate OnEpisode 80 - Make Powerful DecisionsEpisode 67 - My Signature System: Leading Your Business And Your PeopleEpisode 52 - Self Efficacy & Taking The HillMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

If you've ever sat in a meeting with something valuable to say and let the moment pass, this episode is for you. I break down the single belief behind that hesitation, and ten specific tactics to help you speak up sooner and more often, starting with your next meeting.What You'll Learn From This Episode:Why waiting for the "perfect" moment to share your view means you may never share it at all.The difference between perfect failure and sloppy success, and why one of them is costing you far more than the other.Ten practical tactics for interjecting, sharing an unfinished thought, and building the habit of speaking up in real time.How to recover from a "vulnerability hangover" after you've put yourself out there.A real client story on how lowering the bar for when to share transformed both his confidence and his team's results.Whether you're the person who processes internally before speaking, or someone who's simply learned to stay quiet in certain rooms, I hope this episode gives you a concrete way to change that starting now.Resources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook for career-critical moments Read: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersWatch: Take Charge Of Your Career Masterclass In 3 Vital StepsMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 11 - Self SabotageEpisode 27 - Fail Fast To SucceedEpisode 37 - Do The Uncomfortable ThingEpisode 62 - Initial Resistance - When To Ignore It & When To Honor ItEpisode 74 - Overcome Imposter SyndromeMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

Every business keeps changing, which means the expectations on your team have to keep changing too. Most managers know this, and still feel guilty rolling out a higher bar, worried it's unfair, unkind, or that their team will revolt. In this episode, I break down why raising the bar is actually one of the most caring things you can do as a leader, and exactly how to present it so your team gets on board instead of digging in.What You'll Learn From This Episode:Why "clear is kind" applies just as much to raising expectations as it does to giving hard feedback.The real cost of not raising the bar, for your team's growth, your own workload, and their long-term job security.Why banding together with your team "against the company" feels supportive but actually disempowers everyone.The research behind why humans are wired to want growth and challenge, and what happens when that need goes unmet.A real client story on rolling out new expectations after a reorg, without the guilt or the apology.If you've ever hesitated to ask more of your team because it felt unfair, I hope this episode gives you the confidence to do it anyway, and do it well.Resources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook for career-critical momentsRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 99 - Leading Through The Forced Bell CurveEpisode 90 - Eliminating The People Manager TaxEpisode 28 - Managing Underperformers Up or OutEpisode 45 - Delegate to EmpowerEpisode 91 - AI Is Here, Keep Calm & Innovate OnMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here

If you've ever thought you couldn't work another year in your role, this episode is for you. I talk clients off the ledge often, helping them avoid hitting the eject button on a job before they've actually tried to fix what's wrong with it. In this episode, I walk through the five steps to take before you quit, including a tool borrowed from Six Sigma that helps you find the real 20 percent of your day causing 80 percent of your frustration, and why most people stall out on step three: permission they never actually needed.What You'll Learn From This Episode:Why the brain defaults to "stay miserable or quit entirely" and skips every option in between.How to use the Pareto principle to find the specific source of your job dissatisfaction instead of blaming the whole role.Why you don't need permission to change how you work, and how to tell when you're actually waiting for it.A real client story on rebuilding trust with leadership instead of jumping ship during an IPO-driven culture shift.How to run a job search and a role redesign in parallel, so you're choosing your next move instead of fleeing your current one.Whether you're deep in frustration right now or just want to make sure you're not missing an opportunity to reshape your current role, this episode gives you clear next steps before you make any big decisions.As Mentioned In This Episode:Register for my next masterclass: Success Without The BurnoutLooking for evidence of business leaders working differently with great outcomes? Read Client WinsResources:Start Here: Free Leadership Playbook for career-critical momentsRead: Weekly Leadership Insights and join 1,000 subscribersMeet: Schedule a complimentary Career Strategy ConsultationLearn More: How 100+ Leaders Have Benefited from my Executive CoachingRecommended Related Episodes:Episode 12 - The Cause of BurnoutEpisode 48 - Burnout vs Quiet Quitting and the Happy MiddlegroundEpisode 31 - Sick of Being Busy and TiredEpisode 76 - Tame Corporate RageMessage me your thoughts on this topic / episode here