Future Female Leaders

Addressing a common roadblock, Nichole helps listeners whose roles don't come with obvious metrics find the numbers hiding in their work anyway.

In this episode:

• Why roles outside of sales often feel harder to quantify, and why that's not actually true
• Thinking in terms of time: how long something used to take versus now, and time saved through a process or shortcut
• Thinking in terms of volume: how many customers, projects, or people were handled, especially as volume grows without quality dropping
• Thinking in terms of frequency or consistency: hitting every deadline, zero errors, or repeated positive feedback as its own kind of number
• Thinking in terms of comparison: being the go-to person or having your work used as the example, done carefully and tactfully
• Using scope when no number exists: how many people, departments, or process steps your work touches
• Why an estimated number, stated confidently, is still far more compelling than leaving it vague
• Today's task: apply one of the five lenses, time, volume, frequency, comparison, or scope, to one brag document entry that currently has no number attached

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Building on yesterday's brag document episode, Nichole shows how to take a plain, ordinary task and turn it into something that actually reads as an achievement.

In this episode:

• Why most brag document entries read like a job description instead of showing real impact
• Three real before-and-after examples, from onboarding a new hire to managing a team calendar to answering customer emails
• Why a timeframe, a comparison, and a result transform a flat task into a true achievement
• The three questions to ask for every entry: what would have happened without me, is there a number I can attach, and how does this compare to before
• Why word choice matters, swapping passive words like "helped" or "assisted" for action words like "trained," "led," or "reorganized"
• Today's task: rewrite three existing brag document entries using the three questions covered in this episode

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Kicking off a new week focused on your brag document, Nichole gets specific on exactly what belongs in it and how to make it actually usable later.

In this episode:

• The five categories to track: completed projects, problems solved, measurable results, new responsibilities, and recognition from others
• The three-part format for each entry: what happened, the result or impact, and the date or month
• Why timing matters more than people think when building a consistent performance story
• Why small wins count, and why they're often the first ones forgotten
• Why moments that didn't go perfectly but were handled well deserve a spot too
• A tip to set a recurring weekly or biweekly reminder to keep the document current
• Today's task: add at least three new entries to your brag document using the five categories

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Wrapping up a big week on numbers, ranges, and offers, Nichole slows things down for a reflection episode, no new tactics, just a chance to sit with your career story.

In this episode:

• Why today is about your real story, not your resume or job titles
• Reflecting on where your career started, and the moments that actually shaped you
• Recognizing the skills you've earned over time, like confidence in meetings and handling hard conversations, not just technical ones
• Why your case for a raise is a story about growth, not just a spreadsheet of numbers
• Today's task: spend 10 minutes writing where you started, what you've overcome, and where you want your story to go next
• A reminder to keep that reflection somewhere accessible to revisit before your actual ask, since confidence comes from remembering how far you've come

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Following yesterday's episode on general market research, Nichole shifts to a higher-stakes scenario, how to handle an actual competing offer in hand.

In this episode:

• The key difference between market research and a real, specific offer from another company
• Why you should only bring up a competing offer if you're genuinely willing to take it, and the risk of using it purely as a bluff
• How to lead the conversation with loyalty and interest rather than an ultimatum
• An example of exactly how to phrase bringing up the offer to your manager
• Being prepared to share some specifics if asked, while staying appropriately vague on compensation details
• Why giving a real, reasonable deadline creates honest urgency without manufactured drama
• The importance of being emotionally prepared for any outcome, including the possibility they can't match it
• Today's task: get honest about whether a current offer is genuinely one you'd take, or think through how you'd handle one if it ever came up

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Building on yesterday's specific ask number, Nichole introduces a different approach, why leading with a range instead of a single number can sometimes work in your favor.

In this episode:

• Why a range can give your manager room to say yes without feeling boxed in
• Why every number in your range needs to be one you'd genuinely feel good walking away with, not just a wide spread for the sake of flexibility
• An example of turning a specific ask number into a strong, research-backed range
• The concept of anchoring, why people tend to focus on the lower end of a range, and why your range should skew slightly higher than feels comfortable
• How to decide between a range or a single number based on how your specific manager typically negotiates
• Why confidence in delivery matters just as much as which option you choose
• Today's task: think about how your manager operates, decide between a range or your single number, and write down why

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Building on yesterday's specific ask number, Nichole introduces a different approach, why leading with a range instead of a single number can sometimes work in your favor.

In this episode:

• Why a range can give your manager room to say yes without feeling boxed in
• Why every number in your range needs to be one you'd genuinely feel good walking away with, not just a wide spread for the sake of flexibility
• An example of turning a specific ask number into a strong, research-backed range
• The concept of anchoring, why people tend to focus on the lower end of a range, and why your range should skew slightly higher than feels comfortable
• How to decide between a range or a single number based on how your specific manager typically negotiates
• Why confidence in delivery matters just as much as which option you choose
• Today's task: think about how your manager operates, decide between a range or your single number, and write down why

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Kicking off a new week, Nichole walks through how to take all the research gathered so far and land on the actual number to say out loud in a raise conversation.

In this episode:

• Finding where your current salary sits within your researched range: bottom, middle, or higher
• Why tenure and experience should push you higher in the range, not toward the entry point
• How your brag document factors in: taking on responsibilities beyond your role should push your number up
• Why to aim for the upper portion of your range, not the absolute top and not the middle just to feel polite
• Why a manager rarely gives more than what's asked, and how shrinking your number beforehand negotiates against yourself
• Why a specific number sounds more researched and is harder to dismiss than a round one
• Today's task: find where you sit in your range and land on one specific ask number

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Wrapping up the week on pay structure and budget cycles, Nichole tackles the harder scenario, what to do when the timing genuinely isn't right after doing all the prep work.

In this episode:

• Why a hiring freeze, recent layoffs, or a closed review cycle doesn't mean your preparation was wasted
• Why bad timing changes when you make your case, not whether you get to make it at all
• Why you shouldn't shelve your brag document or research, so you're ready in a week instead of starting over
• How to have a different conversation now: asking your manager what it would take to be positioned for the highest possible raise, instead of asking for one today
• Why getting an actual date to revisit the conversation matters, instead of leaving it vague
• The difference between a company having one tough year versus a pattern of "not now" year after year, and why that distinction matters for your future there
• This weekend's task: be honest about your timing, and either plan your ask or schedule the "what would it take" conversation

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Continuing this week's dive into pay structure, Nichole covers how to read whether your company genuinely has money available right now, or is just giving the easy answer.

In this episode:

• Why "there's no budget right now" is sometimes true, and sometimes just the easier answer to give
• Signs there may be room: active hiring on your team, public growth announcements, and visible spending on tools, events, or outside consultants
• Signs money is genuinely tight: hiring freezes, layoffs, cuts to perks or training, vague leadership updates, and paused projects
• Why tight budgets don't make the conversation pointless, and how "not right now, let's revisit in three months" still counts as progress
• Today's task: take inventory of what you've actually seen at your company in the last few months, and use it to shape your timing and framing

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop