Will more money or a bigger title make me happier?
Probably not for long. Catie Campbell, an executive coach, says people chase a feeling, not a milestone. A raise or a title is a milestone. If the feeling you want, such as influence or being strategic, does not come with it, you feel let down. Decide the feeling first, then choose the role.
A milestone is not a feeling
Senior vice president is a milestone. So is becoming CEO, or moving from individual contributor to people leader. Catie says those can open the right doors. But when an achievement does not land, it is usually because the person was chasing a feeling that the title was supposed to deliver. The biggest letdown comes when you get into the role and the feeling is not there.
What Catie points to
Catie cites two pieces of research. A positive psychology researcher came up with the arrival fallacy: humans are poor at predicting how happy they will be when they arrive. A Harvard and UVA study on impact bias says we overestimate how happy a future achievement will make us.
More money does not make you more satisfied in the work, she says.
Amy and the promotion
Amy is not her real name. She is an accomplished professional who had climbed steadily. She had been a vice president for a couple of years, and the promotion to senior vice president, with a significant raise, was close to a given.
Two weeks into the new job, Amy started a coaching call near tears. She said, I can't believe this is what I wanted. She had assumed she would know what a senior vice president does. The role took her out of the work she loved. Now she set direction, and everyone else did the hands-on work.
She had hoped the title would make her feel secure, recognized and confident. She updated LinkedIn and people congratulated her. Then what? Nothing else changed.
Moving for more pay
Catie has coached people who left for $30,000 or $50,000 more, or a company car. Many traded one set of problems for another.
She did it herself. She doubled her salary to take what she thought was her dream job. On her first day, her new boss told her to fire someone on her team and gave her 30 days. She says she had been chasing influence and the feeling of being strategic, and the job did not give her either.
Ask which feeling you want
Catie's questions are plain. Where do I want to have impact? What is the feeling I am chasing? What would I need to do to get it? She says what gets her out of bed is helping a client succeed, not her bank balance or a title. If the next title means more administration and less of the work you love, the raise may not be worth it.
FAQ
Does more money make you happier?
Only up to a point, Catie says. Once your income covers what you need, more money does not make you more satisfied in the work, and a bigger title will not fill that gap.
Why did I feel let down after a promotion?
Catie says humans are bad at predicting how happy they will be once they arrive. She also notes that the higher you go, the less hands-on work you get to do.
Should I change companies for more money?
Catie says many people who do this trade one set of problems for another. Her test is to name the feeling you are chasing before you move.
Catie Campbell is an executive coach, emotional intelligence expert and keynote speaker who has helped 30,000+ leaders.