I was flipping through my Costco Connection magazine and learned about a new (to me) “persuasion book” called Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. This caught my eye as I’m all about “getting a YES to your request” for flexible work and a maximum maternity leave. (I’ve used that phrase in my marketing materials since the 1990s.)
One of the five ways outlined in the short book excerpt is “The threat of loss is more persuasive than the potential gain.” This works to your advantage when you negotiate your maternity leave proposal.
As presented in the Max Maternity Leave Proposal Template, there’s no direct threat of you quitting your job if you don’t get what you need or want (and you may not even be able to consider that as an back-up option), but your well-defined plan for the specific terms of your maternity leave is juxtaposed with your plan to return to the job. So there’s an indirect “threat of loss” to your boss if your terms aren’t satisfied.
A smart manager who values your work contribution will want to collaborate with you to reach mutually-agreeable terms of your leave. See how that works?
And it does work. For years, I’ve seen a direct connection between a trusted employee delivering a solid performance to a manager for whom she’s worked for at least two years and that manager’s approval of her proposal for flexible work or maternity leave. If you match that profile, it’s likely your manager will want to work out a plan that meets your needs, or as close as possible, while still meeting the employer’s needs.
Your value as an employee gives you some negotiation leverage. Presented appropriately, you can apply that leverage to get the terms (or something close) that you’re requesting.
Do you think this will work for you? Do you have doubts or confidence? If you would like an assessment of your degree of negotiation leverage, that’s the type of thing I can do in the Maternity Leave Mentor free phone calls.
