> I can’t tell you the number of times people have asked me for “development” or “leveling” conversations where I get excited and start talking about learning,

> I can’t tell you the number of times people have asked me for “development” or “leveling” conversations where I get excited and start talking about learning, skills gaps, and such and it’s clear all they wanted to talk about was salary. Disappointing. I mean…these people are rational and they want more money, which is an objective metric. In a confusing world of HR jargon, levels, lack of clear links between output and compensation, what else could you expect? It’s on you, the manager, to link the financial metric to specific tangible results, whether past or future. If high performers are having these “I want a raise” conversations, it’s because they know they are delivering, they want a sign of progress in their career. They may already be gathering market data of their real price through interviews or at least discussions/research. This means they are already at risk of moving. Lack of insight into this from managers is “Disappointing” In my own experience, and having guided others through these conversations, managers need to always have some clarity on what they could provide to the people reporting directly to them. The timing should be determined based on an understanding of what is best for the company. E.g., what maximizes retention or other key organizational metrics.