Taking Control of Your Comp

“I already know how to bring in business,” she said to me.
“My issue? Boundaries.”

She joined on the spot.

She’s a partner at an AmLaw 200 firm.

Deeply respected.
Massively credentialed.
Trusted with serious work.

She was also quietly unraveling.

One of her biggest stressors was her annual compensation letter.

Her instinct was to wait for it to arrive and see what happened.

That felt reasonable.
Professional.
Measured.

But here is the reality:

By the time the letter arrives, most of the story has already been written.

Conversations have happened.
Budgets have been shaped.
Assumptions have formed.

Waiting feels neutral.

It isn’t.

So instead of bracing for the number and telling herself that if it disappointed her, she would deal with it later, we shifted her posture.

Not with threats.
Not with ultimatums.

With strategy.

What had she built?
Where had she created leverage?
Who inside the firm actually influences compensation decisions?

She began having intentional conversations months before compensation decisions were finalized.

She documented her wins.
She broadcast them appropriately.
She articulated her business plan for the coming year.

Nothing aggressive.
Nothing dramatic.

Just deliberate.

By the time compensation letters were issued, the narrative about her value had already been reinforced.

The financial difference was meaningful.

The shift in her self-perception was even more significant.

When we started working together, neither of us fully anticipated how much money we would be saving and making her.

But the deeper change was internal.

She stopped waiting to be evaluated.
She started operating like someone who understood her market value.

In BigLaw, the environment is not passive.

It rewards those who define their value early.
It extracts from those who hesitate.

Boundaries are not emotional accessories.

They determine what you will accept.
What you will decline.
And how others are trained to treat you.

They are strategic tools.

And in a hypercompetitive environment, they will be tested again and again.

One of the pillars of my work is Influence.
Boundaries sit squarely within it.

And one lesson I repeat often is this:

Boundaries are not a one-time fix. They are a lifelong discipline.

If you are operating at a high level yet still surprised by what people attempt to take from you, consider this:

It may not be random.

It may be an invitation to refine how you protect your interests.

If you feel under-rewarded in the compensation department, it may be worth asking:

Am I shaping the narrative about my value?
Or am I waiting to react to what I am given?

Just something to consider.

xo,

Rachel

P.S. If you want to think this through with me directly, I host small private strategy sessions. Details here.