Successful Negotiation
However, if there is need to resolve a major disagreement, it is imperative that the person make sure they prepare thoroughly. Think through the following points before they start negotiating:
· Goals: what does the negotiator want to get out of the negotiation? What does the negotiator think the other person wants?
· Trades: What do negotiator and the other person have that can be traded? What does each have that the other wants? And what is each comfortable giving away?
· Alternatives: if the negotiator does not reach agreement with the other person, what alternatives does each have? Are these good or bad? How much does it matter if an agreement is not reached? Does failure to reach an agreement cut out future opportunities? And what alternatives might the other person have?
· Relationships: what is the history of the relationship? Could or should this history impact the negotiation? Will there be any hidden issues that may influence the negotiation? How will the negotiator handle these?
· Expected outcomes: what outcome will people be expecting from this negotiation? What has the outcome been in the past, and what precedents have been set?
· The consequences: what are the consequences for the negotiator of winning or losing this negotiation? What are the consequences for the other person?
· Power: who has what power in the relationship? Who controls resources? Who stands to lose the most if agreement is not reached? And does the other person have the power to deliver what the negotiator hopes for?
· Possible solutions: based on all of the considerations, what possible compromises might there be?
For a negotiation to be win-win, both parties should feel positive about the negotiation once it is over. This helps people keep good working relationships afterwards. This governs the style of the negotiation: dramatics and displays of emotion are clearly inappropriate because they undermine the rational basis of the negotiation, and because they bring a manipulative aspect to them.
Despite this, emotion can be an important subject of discussion because people's emotional needs must fairly be met. If emotion is not discussed where it needs to be, then the agreement reached can be unsatisfactory and temporary. Be as detached as possible when discussing own emotions – perhaps discussing them as if they belong to someone else.
The negotiation itself is a careful exploration of the negotiators position and the other person’s position, with the goal of finding a mutually acceptable compromise that gives the negotiator and the other person both as much of what is wanted as possible. People's positions are rarely as fundamentally opposed as they may initially appear - and the other person may have very different goals from the ones the negotiator expect!
In an ideal situation, the negotiator will find that the other person wants what the management is prepared to trade, and that the managers are prepared to give what the other person wants. If this is not the case and one person must give way, then it is fair for this person to try to negotiate some form of compensation for doing so – the scale of this compensation will often depend on the many of the factors discussed above.
Ultimately, both sides should feel comfortable with the final solution if the agreement is to be considered win-win. Only consider win-lose negotiation if the manager does not need to have an ongoing relationship with the other party as, having lost, they are unlikely to want to work with the manager again.
Equally, the negotiator should expect that if they need to fulfill some part of a deal in which the negotiator has won, they may be uncooperative and legalistic about the way they do this. Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing, though.
Healthy and constructive conflict is a component of high functioning teams. Conflict arises from differences between people; the same differences that often make diverse teams more effective than those made up of people with similar experience. When people with varying viewpoints, experiences, skills, and opinions are tasked with a project or challenge, the combined effort can far surpass what any group of similar individual could achieve.
Team members must be open to these differences and not let them rise into full-blown disputes. Understanding and appreciating the various viewpoints involved in conflict are key factors in its resolution.
These are key skills for all team members to develop. The important thing is to maintain a healthy balance of constructive difference of opinion, and avoid negative conflict that is destructive and disruptive. Getting to, and maintaining, that balance requires well-developed team skills, particularly the ability to resolve conflict when it does happens, and the ability to keep it healthy and avoid conflict in the day-to-day course of team working.
