Negotiation #1: Know and Negotiate Your Value

Why Value Comes First

Before you can negotiate effectively, you must understand your value. You can only advocate for what you recognize as valuable.

We’ve all heard stories of someone picking up a random object at a garage sale—say, a “doorstop”—and later discovering it’s a priceless antique worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The original owner sold it for $5.00 because they didn’t recognize what they had.

The same is true in academic medicine. If you don’t understand your own value, you risk exchanging your worth for less than it deserves. Whether you are negotiating salary, resources, or your day-to-day responsibilities, the foundation of every negotiation is this: know your value.

Five Ways to Negotiate Your Value

1. Recognize Your Infinite Potential

As an academic physician, you’ve already proven that you can exceed expectations. Think back to your pre-medical school self—could you have imagined performing surgeries, leading resuscitations, or solving complex problems in medicine? Probably not.

You’ve crossed thresholds before, and you will cross many more. With the right tools, resources, and teams, there is no telling how far you can go. Your potential is infinite.

2. Enhance Your Value

Infinite potential is only meaningful if you cultivate it. Staying the same person you were three years ago is a missed opportunity.

Enhance your value intentionally. Invest in new skills. Attend career development opportunities. Take courses that stretch you. Ask yourself: What can I do today to become more valuable tomorrow?

3. Direct Your Own Value Proposition

It’s easy to compare yourself to colleagues—who has more publications, more grants, or more accolades. But comparison is a losing game: there will always be someone ahead and someone behind.

Instead, compete with yourself. Define your own progress and growth. If you’ve published two manuscripts this year, how will you grow that number next year? By directing your own value proposition, you take control of your professional narrative.

4. Show Yourself Compassion

Academic medicine is demanding. You’ve endured sleepless nights on call, rejections of grants and manuscripts, and the emotional toll of losing patients.

Harsh self-judgment diminishes your sense of value. Compassion, on the other hand, allows you to recover faster, to get up after setbacks, and to keep moving forward. Recognizing your effort—even when outcomes fall short—creates space for continued growth.

5. Speak Only What You Wish to See

Our words shape our world. When representing yourself—whether in conversations with colleagues, mentors, or leaders—speak about yourself and your work in ways that reflect the outcomes you want to see.

This isn’t about false positivity. It’s about intentionally framing your narrative so others perceive your value clearly. Speak to your strengths, your progress, and your goals.

Negotiating Your Value Is Non-Negotiable

Every negotiation you’ll ever enter—whether about salary, resources, time, or responsibilities—rests on this foundation: understanding and communicating your value. Without it, you risk underselling yourself and diminishing your potential.

What’s Next: Negotiating Your Legacy

Now that we’ve explored how to negotiate your value, the next step is to look beyond the present moment. In the next post, we’ll talk about negotiating your legacy—what you’re building for the long term, and how that shapes every decision you make today.

Reflection Questions

• When was the last time you underestimated your own value?

• What investments could you make in yourself this year to enhance your value?

• How do you usually talk about your work—and does it reflect the story you want others to hear?