A retired WSJ editor offers workplace advice

Joann Lublin, who retired earlier this year after 47 years at The Wall Street Journal, offered some workplace advice to her younger self:

Lublin writes, “Ask for the pay you deserve, but do your homework first. In 1986, Kathryn Christensen, the London bureau chief, offered me a 10% raise to become her second in command. (She had become the Journal’s first female bureau chief in 1982, in Boston.) The raise impressed me so much that I never considered requesting more. Unfortunately, women frequently react the same way today. An editor who advises reporters offered overseas assignments told me that men tend to demand more money, after analyzing local pay practices, while women accept even modest raises without objection.

“Remember the power of tact and discretion. When I was London deputy bureau chief, a New York executive asked me to gauge our office morale before he visited European bureaus. I indiscreetly relayed one staffer’s comment: ‘At a time of austerity, why is he taking this junket?’ The enraged executive felt personally attacked and tried to get me fired. I later learned this from colleagues and spent months repairing my image.

“My problem? I was a rookie manager with no training or feedback about dealing with senior management. I hope that you’ll ask more experienced associates for informal guidance.”

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