301| Should You Loop in HR First? Here’s How to Decide
Release Date: 11/03/2026
308| Going Over Your Manager’s Head: When It’s Okay and How to Do It Well
Future Female Leaders
Nichole walks through when going over your manager’s head may be reasonable, when it isn’t, and how to handle it professionally if you decide to. In this episode: An honest note that this is a judgment call: it can work well, and it can carry risk to your relationship with your manager depending on your company’s culture When it’s generally not okay: as your first step, out of frustration or in the heat of the moment, or before giving your manager a fair chance When it may be reasonable: you’ve made several documented good faith attempts over weeks, your manager can’t or won’t...
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307| What If Your Manager Doesn’t Have the Power to Approve Raises?
Future Female Leaders
Nichole explains what to do when your manager can recommend a raise but someone else makes the final decision, and how to help your manager carry your case to the people who decide. In this episode: Why this is common: a manager may recommend a raise while a director, leadership team, compensation committee, or budget owner makes the final call Why “it’s not up to me” changes your strategy but doesn’t end it Step one: find out who decides and how, and ask HR about the process if you’re not sure you’ll get a clear answer Step two: ask what your manager can do, such as recommend,...
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306| What to Do When Your Manager Keeps Avoiding the Topic
Future Female Leaders
Nichole shares a step-by-step approach for when you’ve asked for the raise conversation and your manager keeps putting it off. In this episode: Why being avoided is frustrating and can make you feel invisible Common reasons a manager may put it off: they’re swamped, uncomfortable without good news, don’t have an answer yet, or are under budget pressure Step one: follow up in writing, and keep it friendly Step two: make it easy to say yes by offering a shorter meeting and two or three specific time slots Step three: attach it to something already happening, like putting it on the agenda...
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305| Anchoring 101: Why You Should Say Your Number First
Future Female Leaders
Nichole explains what anchoring is, why the first number on the table shapes the whole conversation, and how to say your number with confidence and then stop talking. In this episode: What anchoring is: the first number put on the table in a negotiation Why the first number tends to pull the rest of the conversation toward it How the conversation changes when you say “ninety-two thousand” first versus negotiating up from your manager’s lower number Three reasons to say your number first: it keeps you from being anchored below what you deserve, you’ve done more homework than anyone...
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304| Saying Your Opening Line Out Loud, On Camera
Future Female Leaders
Nichole wraps up the week with a practice episode, giving you a weekend assignment to rehearse your opening line and your ask out loud. In this episode: A recap of the week: asking for the meeting, deciding about HR, what to send ahead, and helping your manager say yes A reminder of the mission to help 1,000 women ask for a raise before the end of the year, and a note that Nichole is still rooting for you if you’re tuning in after the new year Why your voice may wobble the first time you say the words out loud, even with perfect research, a polished one-pager, and good timing, and why...
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303| How to Help Your Manager Walk In Ready to Say Yes
Future Female Leaders
Nichole shares a mindset shift for the raise conversation: your job isn’t just to ask, it’s to help your manager say yes. In this episode: A recap of the week: asking for the meeting, deciding about HR, and what to send ahead Why a manager who loves you may still need approval from their boss, HR, or a finance team, and why it’s harder for them to advocate for you without the right information Giving your manager the story in a sentence or two, and asking yourself what one sentence you’d want them to repeat to their boss Connecting your work to what the company cares about, so your...
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302| What to Send Your Manager Ahead of the Meeting
Future Female Leaders
After covering the meeting request and HR, Nichole explains what, if anything, to send your manager before you sit down together. In this episode: A recap of the week so far and a check-in on what you decided about HR A clarification that your one-pager still works best as something you bring to reference and offer to send afterward, so what you send ahead of time is a short heads-up Why to think of the heads-up as an agenda, not a case, so your manager shows up prepared and relaxed without a full document to react to A simple three-part structure in three or four lines: the purpose of the...
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301| Should You Loop in HR First? Here’s How to Decide
Future Female Leaders
Following yesterday’s episode on asking for the meeting, Nichole tackles a common question: should you involve HR before you talk to your manager? In this episode: A note that every company is different and that Nichole isn’t a lawyer, so check your own company’s policies Why the default for most people is to start with your manager, who knows your work best and will advocate for you, and why going to HR first can feel like skipping a step and catch your manager off guard Five situations where HR makes sense: Your company has a formal process with set forms, bands, or timelines Your...
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300| How to Ask Your Manager for 30 Minutes Without Raising Alarm Bells
Future Female Leaders
Celebrating the 300th episode, Nichole kicks off a week on setting up the conversation, starting with how to request the time without making your manager nervous. In this episode: A celebration of the 300th episode and how far the podcast has come since launching in 2019 A recap of last week’s timing episodes and a look ahead at setting up the conversation itself A reminder of the mission to help 1,000 women ask for a raise before the end of the year, and a welcome to anyone listening after December, since there’s no time like the present to start preparing Why this episode is about how...
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298| How to Request the Meeting: Easy Messaging for the Ask
Future Female Leaders
Nichole moves from planning to action, with simple templates you can borrow to get the raise meeting on the calendar. In this episode: A recap of the week so far: the best time of year to ask, reading the room, and whether to ask before or after a big project Why most women either bring it up randomly in a hallway or overthink the request until the email never gets sent The three things a good meeting request does: it’s clear about the topic, calm in tone, and easy to say yes to Being clear without being mysterious or apologetic, and why naming compensation and growth keeps your manager...
info_outlineFollowing yesterday’s episode on asking for the meeting, Nichole tackles a common question: should you involve HR before you talk to your manager?
In this episode:
- A note that every company is different and that Nichole isn’t a lawyer, so check your own company’s policies
- Why the default for most people is to start with your manager, who knows your work best and will advocate for you, and why going to HR first can feel like skipping a step and catch your manager off guard
- Five situations where HR makes sense:
- Your company has a formal process with set forms, bands, or timelines
- Your manager doesn’t control compensation, because decisions are made higher up or by a committee
- You’re not sure how pay bands work, and HR may be able to share the range, especially where pay transparency laws apply
- You have a concern about fairness, in which case you should document what you found
- Your relationship with your manager is strained, or they’ve been unresponsive after several tries to get on their calendar
- How to approach HR well: ask process questions, not demands, such as how compensation reviews are handled and when decisions are made
- Why to keep your manager informed that you’re looking into the process, since transparency builds trust and you don’t want them to hear about it secondhand
- A reminder that HR works for the company and isn’t your personal advocate the way a manager or mentor might be, so stick to facts
- A preview that what to do if your manager doesn’t have the power to approve raises, or keeps avoiding the topic, comes in a couple of weeks
- Today’s task: decide whether to start with your manager or check in with HR about process, write your reason in one sentence, and if you choose HR, write one or two process questions you’d ask
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