I was 21 years old when I was offered my first salaried role in Human Resources.

At the time, I was working in a clerical position, paid hourly with incentives. I made what seemed like a perfectly reasonable assumption: a professional HR role must come with a higher salary.

I was wrong.

To move into HR, I actually had to take a step backwards financially before I could move ahead professionally.

Looking back, it makes complete sense. I had no HR experience. I was just beginning my HR education. Someone was willing to invest in my potential before I had fully earned it.

That was the first of many assumptions I made about compensation over the years.

Early in my career, I specialized in benefits and compensation. I assumed that if you were a big company, you had more money, and if you were a small company, you had to be frugal. Both can be true. And both can be completely false.

I also thought compensation was primarily about market data, salary ranges, benchmark jobs, and percentiles. Those things matter, and they shape decisions, but there is more.

Over the past twenty years, I’ve had the privilege of sitting alongside executive teams from large organizations, small businesses, municipalities, family-owned companies, and not-for-profits. Regardless of the organization, one thing has been remarkably consistent.

I’ve never sat at an executive table where the conversation started with, ‘How little can we pay our people?'” The conversation is almost always about balance.

How do we recognize our people in a meaningful way?

How do we remain competitive?

How do we create consistency and fairness?

How do we make decisions today that we can responsibly sustain tomorrow?

Employees experience compensation personally because it affects their lives, and that’s understandable. Leaders experience it as one of the greatest balancing acts they’ll face. Both perspectives are real.

Compensation decisions reveal leadership values. They require leaders to make thoughtful decisions that are fair to individuals and responsible for the organization.

Sometimes the answer is an increase. Sometimes it’s a bonus. Sometimes it’s flexibility, development, or a roadmap to help someone grow into the next opportunity. Sometimes the answer is simply, “Not yet.”

I’ve come to believe the organizations that get it right have a rationale for how they pay people. They are intentional and thoughtful. They create room for growth through well-designed salary ranges, balance fairness with affordability, and, whenever possible, help people understand the “why” behind their decisions.

To my 21-year-old self, I would say this: stepping back to step ahead wasn’t a loss. The salary reflected where I was at the time. The opportunity reflected where someone believed I could go.

That distinction has stayed with me.

Compensation feels personal, but good compensation decisions require perspective. A thoughtful pay decision should recognize what someone contributes today, the opportunity they are being given, the growth still ahead of them, and what the organization can responsibly sustain.

Today, as an executive, I am confident that the right decision is not always the most immediately rewarding one. It is the one you can explain, apply consistently, and stand behind with fairness, honesty, and care.