Episode 91: Negotiation as Self-Advocacy

The Career Clinic Podcast

Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart

Episode Overview

Welcome to Week Four — the final week — of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series.

This week centers on designing your career and life on purpose, and in Episode 91, Ronnie reframes negotiation as something far bigger than salary discussions or offer letters.

This episode positions negotiation as self-advocacy — a posture and practice that helps create provision and margin across your work and life. Whether you're staying put, stepping up, or preparing for what's next, negotiation is about shaping the conditions that allow you to succeed and sustain yourself over time.

Negotiation isn't about winning. It's about aligning the terms of engagement with the life you're trying to live.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ Why negotiation is about more than compensation ✔️ The difference between negotiating outcomes vs. negotiating conditions ✔️ How provision and margin protect against burnout and resentment ✔️ Common negotiation moments people miss entirely ✔️ Why half-negotiating often leads to overwhelm later ✔️ How to prepare for negotiation conversations with clarity and confidence ✔️ How to frame negotiations as alignment, not demands

The Core Reframe: Negotiation Creates Provision and Margin

Ronnie introduces two key concepts that ground this episode:

Provision The resources, support, authority, and clarity you need to do your work well and live well — including team size, budget, tools, access, decision-making power, and fair compensation.

Margin The breathing room that makes work sustainable — flexibility, boundaries, time, rest, and space to think strategically instead of constantly reacting.

Negotiation is how you actively shape both.

Where Most People Stop Too Soon

This episode names a common pattern: people negotiate the number, but not the conditions.

Examples include:

• Negotiating salary but not team size or resources

• Accepting a promotion without clarifying decision authority

• Getting a raise without discussing the path forward

• Absorbing additional scope without resetting expectations

• Working unsustainable hours without renegotiating boundaries

The result is often short-term wins followed by long-term strain.

Missed Negotiation Moments to Watch For ✍🏾

Ronnie walks through several moments that are actually invitations to negotiate:

• Promotions or role expansions

• Strong performance reviews

• Increased scope or absorbed work

• Projects that fail due to structural gaps

• Unsustainable workloads or expectations

Negotiation doesn't only happen at offer stage — it happens whenever the terms of engagement change.

How to Prepare for Negotiation Conversations

Ronnie offers a practical, repeatable approach:

1. Get Clear on What You're Asking For — and Why Know what success requires in real terms.

2. Invite the Conversation Use language that signals alignment and gives space to prepare.

3. Frame for Mutual Success Position the conversation around outcomes and sustainability, not demands.

4. Bring Context and Data Decision-makers don't always see what you see — help them understand.

5. Get Curious About Pushback Curiosity creates collaboration and better outcomes.

6. Offer Options, Not Just Problems Solutions invite partnership.

What This Episode Is — and Isn't

This episode is not about:

• Negotiating for sport

• Being adversarial

• Pushing without context

It is about:

• Advocating for yourself clearly

• Designing conditions that support long-term success

• Treating negotiation as a leadership skill

• Understanding that the terms you accept shape the life you live

This Week's Reflection 🤎

Identify one upcoming moment where a negotiation is needed — a review, role change, scope shift, or workload concern.

Ask yourself:

• What do I need to succeed here?

• What conditions would make this sustainable?

• How can I frame this as alignment?

That's the work.

What's Coming Next

The next episode continues this thread with a focus on stakeholder management — and how to build partnerships that support your success instead of leaving you to carry everything alone.

Links & Resources 🤎

📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter Weekly reflections, tools, and leadership guidance 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com

📝 Ask OhHeyCoach Submit a question for a future episode 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT

🤝 Work With OhHeyCoach Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com

📬 Contact [email protected]

Final Thought 🤎

Negotiation isn't about asking for more. It's about asking for what makes success possible.

The terms you accept today shape the life you live tomorrow.

I'll see you in the next episode