Work-life revolves around various forms of negotiation, so the ability to lead formal and informal negotiations comprises a significant part of any leadership role. Although negotiations can take many formats, and have many purpose, the real art of negotiation is to arrive at an outcome that both parties are happy with or, at the very least, can live with.
A model for handling more formal negotiations is provided here. However, these general guidelines can be pared back to apply in less formal situations – for example, if you were negotiating with a team-member regarding a pay rise.
Preparing to negotiate
Key tasks to be considered include:
- Clarify your objectives for the negotiations. What are you hoping to get from the negotiation? What is your bottom line?
- Decide which issues are open to compromise and which are not; thus defining your areas of flexibility. If you have no areas of flexibility, the negotiations become more difficult because you are not actually willing to negotiate.
- Research as much relevant information on the subject under negotiation as possible – the more you know about the issue, the more confident you will feel. Are there previous agreements in place with the opposite party that might be relevant?
- Talk to others who may have negotiated with the other party previously, to gain insights into their likely approach; the more you know about the opposition, the better.
- Think also about the likely case to be presented by the other party, its potential strengths and weaknesses.
- Define your own strategy and, if other are supporting you, ensure that all the negotiating team are clear on their roles during the negotiations.
Other factors to be considered in preparation are the location for the negotiations and its implications, as well as the timings and general logistics to be arranged. An agenda for the negotiations ideally should be agreed between both parties in advance.
Conducting the negotiations
Ensure from the outset that the right atmosphere is created. Negotiations do not have to be held in an ‘icy’ atmosphere, although this is often a tactic used. The early stages of the negotiations should be designed to ensure that all parties are familiar with each other and some sort of rapport is developed between them.
If not already agreed, it is critical to agree the format for the negotiations and any relevant logistics at this stage.
The remainder of the negotiations cannot be outlined easily, as the format depends upon the nature of the negotiation, the complexity of the issues, the degree of distance between each party, the numbers involved and even the approaches taken by the individuals attending. However, there are some common stages:
Opening positions
The parties begin by stating their opening positions, usually with some in-built flexibility for them (their best case scenario).
Negotiation
This phase involves discussion, bargaining, debate, offer and counter-offer before agreement can be reached. The bulk of the debate focuses on the problem areas, but it can be advisable to identify any common ground early. If things get difficult later and an impasse is reached, it can be useful to return to these areas of mutual agreement.
During the negotiation process, it is important too to focus on the opposition’s position rather than their personalities. Be aware that many tactics are adopted by each side in pursuit of their objectives. Also, it is important that you summarize each parties’ position on a regular basis, to ensure there is no backtracking at a later stage. These summaries also help to identify whether the parties are moving closer or further apart.
Confirmation
it is essential to get full agreement from both parties on the results of the negotiations. This reduces the likelihood of either party reneging on the deal at a later stage or subsequently adopting different position. The next steps in the process should be clearly defined to ensure any agreements are implemented.
These steps are a simplified framework for negotiations but are a useful guide nonetheless. There can be many twists and turns in achieving final agreement, with emotions, personalities and behaviors all playing a vital part. It is important to recognize this psychological element involved in the negotiating process. Ultimately, it is only through practical experience that you can really enhance your negotiation skills.
