Money fuels our basic needs, security, autonomy, and aspirations. It can empower, restrict, motivate, or stress us out.
Because of this, compensation is deeply emotional. Every team member filters their pay through their personal money story—a subconscious narrative shaped by life experiences.
Common money stories:
- “Money is the root of all evil.”
- “There’s never enough money.”
- “Wanting money is greedy.”
- “Money creates freedom.”
- “There’s more where that came from.”
While you can’t control these stories, you can encourage self-awareness to help team members break free from limiting beliefs.
When people understand their default money mindset, they gain the power to shift it—especially if they tie their compensation to self-worth.
Help your team reflect on their money mindset
In many U.S. workplaces, money is a private matter. Most team members won’t want to share their beliefs with coworkers or managers—and that’s okay.
But you can still share how important it is to be aware of one's own default money mindset and money stories. Offer these questions as private reflection prompts your team can consider on their own:
- What were you taught about money growing up?
- What do you believe about wealth, scarcity, and security?
- How are those beliefs reflected in how you make, save, and spend money?
- Which of these beliefs serve you—and which do not?
- If someone only looked at your spending, what would they say you value?
- Does your spending align with your actual values?
Pro tip: Do not offer this opportunity near raise or bonus time—it could easily be misunderstood.
Beyond mindset: How leaders shape compensation culture
As a leader, you can’t rewrite your team’s money stories—but you can influence how your organization defines compensation, value, and fairness.
Bonus ways to support a healthy compensation culture:
- Offer financial literacy training. Partner with a nonprofit offering unbiased education (not financial products). Or share vetted written resources.
- Prioritize psychological compensation. Team members weigh autonomy, appreciation, flexibility, values alignment, and team camaraderie just as heavily as their paycheck.
- Support pay transparency. People will talk about their salaries—and they should. Suppressing those conversations often signals secrecy or unfairness. Instead, create a culture where compensation is fair, transparent, and clearly communicated.
- Separate compensation from performance. Do not have compensation conversations at the same time you have performance reviews. Separate them to ensure both are meaningful.
- Want more? Check out Chapter 14 of Culture Works: Crack the Compensation Code.
Here’s to fostering a workplace where compensation is fair, meaningful, and empowering!
Want to support your team’s money mindset and build a stronger culture around compensation? Explore our culture workshops for practical tools and language that make it easier.
