Come Let Us Reason Together -Negotiation Leadership, How to Do It Right!

Quentin SaLay, Vice President of Human Resources, Freewheel - Comcast

Like it or not, you are a negotiator! Negotiation skills are essential for effective leadership and the efficient operation of any organization. We negotiate every day, whether it be with our significant other, our children or our neighbors. Our negotiations cross many business transactions from the barista to the bank loan officer. Negotiation matters in a world where we need to move faster, smarter, and more efficiently to accomplish our work and meet organizational needs.

The word negotiation has such negative connotations and is often associated with high stake deals outside the organization in which there are clear winners and losers. There are cooperative ways to negotiate our differences in cooperative and collaborative ways for the good of the organization. Failure to adopt this posture can have dire consequences for the system creating avoidable conflict, delays and relationships that foster the us vs. them culture within the company. I have seen this happen many times in my career and had to intervene and mediate to get these relationships back on track for the good of the organization.

So why continue reading? Because you need to understand the landscape and develop the skills to effectively negotiated within your organization, regardless of how skilled or practiced you may think you are. You further need to recognize the risk to your organization’s strategic objectives if you and your team do not have and practice a framework to reach agreements. Negotiations are both science and art, and you and your team need to be proficient at both to avoid delays and disruption to the business.

The business negotiations we often find ourselves engaged in may involve requesting additional funding from finance to procure a product or service, acquire funding for additional headcount, request funding for a new go-to-market strategy, restructure the organization, implement an employee engagement activity, make an investment into a community project, or gaining agreement on the scope and direction of a business initiative. Often, we meet with individuals and organizations over whom we have no formal authority to solicit support and collaboration from them for our own strategic initiatives and priorities. 

Negotiation is a decision-making process. In the book “Getting to Yes” author Roger Fisher defines negotiation in business as “a back-and-forth communication designed to reach an agreement when you and the other side have some interest that is shared and some that are opposed. It is in the process of negotiations that shared interest is discussed and agreements made to move forward. Negotiations are the best way for organizational leaders to manage differences. To effectively manage differences, know what you are trying to accomplish, understand the other parties’ interests, and work towards a win-win solution.

The Harvard Project on Negotiation list four distinct negotiation styles you should be aware of as you prepare for negotiations. The four negotiation styles are Individualist, Cooperator, Competitive, and Altruist.

1. Individualists - focus on outcomes for themselves. They generally exhibit a forceful communication style.

2. Cooperators - focus on value creation for both parties and win/win for themselves and the other party.

3. Competitive - focus on the desire to win big for themselves

4. Altruists - focus on maximizing outcomes for their counterpart

Which style is your most dominant?

The goal of any negotiation is to gain agreement from the other party for the interest you presented. The path to gaining that agreement is not often without bumps in the road. The other party has an interest too. Are your interest and their interest shared? Have they shared interests in total or in part? Where in the continuum of your proposal are you and the other party not aligned? What is your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement)? Have you designed a value-creating agreement? These are just a few questions we need to unpack.

Focus on Interest, Not Positions

The fundamental problem in negotiations is the lack of understanding between both parties of each side’s interest. A basic technique is to put yourself in their shoes and examine their positions, explore their interest, and ask yourself why? This will help you uncover their concerns that you can address in a more effective way. Avoid positional bargaining that creates an adversarial, zero-sum exercise focused on claiming rather than creating value. 

What is your BATNA

BATNA is a term that refers to the Best Alternative to the Negotiated Agreement. Knowing your BATNA, as well as the other parties, is crucial. Does it simply mean if there is no agreement, what are your and the opposing parties’ other options? In the context of an enterprise, there is no walking away from mission-critical initiatives. There is usually an executive leader that is expecting both parties to reach an agreement. The focus must be on the benefits to the organization, not on the person(s) and their need to win. This means inventing multiple options that present mutual gains before deciding what to do. Develop your BATNA as suggested in the book “Getting to Yes!”

1. Create a list of actions that you might take if no agreement is made

2. Refine some of the more promising ideas and translate them into tangible alternatives

3. Select the alternative that works best

Inter-company conflict and negotiations cannot be avoided; incorporating these skills into your preparation will ensure you communicate your interest effectively, understand the other party’s interest, and create a ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement), know where your interest is shared and not aligned this will help you prepare to create an agreement that has mutual value above all focus on building trusting and collaborative relationships. The organization and your team members depend on you.