Negotiation Skills Have Broad Applications

By: Rachel DiGiammarino

In many of today’s businesses, work gets done via cross-functional teams comprised of representatives from across a company’s many departments. But let’s not assume that cross-functional means collaborative since the two can often be at odds more than aligned unless there is an intentional and conscious effort to identify and support common goals.

In fact, more and more companies are operating under a complex web of interdependencies, which might also be driven by satellite offices, multiple product lines, diverse customer bases, an assortment of partners & vendors, etc. While there may be some lone wolves who attempt to operate in silos, the ability to get things accomplished requires interaction and teamwork.

In Accordence’s work training thousands of individuals over the past ten years, we recognize that the strength and productivity of a team is buoyed by employees who have a keen understanding and deployment of negotiation strategies.

Negotiation = working with others to find a mutually agreeable outcome

Full disclosure: my premise is that virtually all negotiations should be approached with a goal towards a win-win outcome; not win-lose and also not lose-lose. With that in mind, I further maintain that the qualities of an effective negotiator include placing a high value on relationship and communication skills to achieve win-win.

In my use of the word negotiation, I’m not trying to reduce the scope of relevant audiences to a limited number of occupations. Although for some it may be merely a case of semantics, I am broadening my reference to negotiation to include influence too. I recommend setting aside generalizations and stereotypes of positions in companies that do most of the negotiating. Traditionally, you might have thought of Sales, Procurement, and Legal. This might have been and might still be true if we’re thinking narrowly of contracts, pricing, terms and conditions. In reality, there are also all the people who are needed internally to support these external deals negotiated by Sales, Procurement and/or Legal.  And perhaps even more common, are the internal negotiations that occur as regularly as daily or weekly status meetings, that may have very little to do with contracts but everything to do with getting work done each and every day and making progress toward goals.

Let’s consider what are some of these common areas being negotiated universally:

  • Personnel Resources

  • Timelines & Due Dates

  • In Scope / Out of Scope

  • Space

  • Budget

  • Process

  • Policy

Negotiation shouldn’t be about strong-arming or calling in the big guns. Conversely, caving in to demands and accommodating too much can lead to unfair advantages and resentment. Imagine the efficiency and productivity gained if employees developed both the competence and confidence to negotiate without regularly having to escalate issues to their supervisor. Managers shouldn’t have to fight all their employees’ battles. Quite frankly, by the time it gets to the management level it’s perceived as more of an adversarial power play rather than the respectful conversation it ought to be.

Furthermore, imagine the engagement and value employees feel when they are empowered to problem solve and collaborate. This skillset should be as much a job requirement as computer literacy, and an integral component of a high performing team. Fostering these aptitudes becomes beneficial to employee retention, talent development, change management, and other challenges that inevitably arise with the cost of doing business with our human resources.

Let’s consider the range of people influencing / being influenced:

  • Direct Supervisor

  • Managers and Leadership

  • Team members

  • Peers

  • Supervisees

  • Customers

  • Vendors

  • Partners

Whether the relationship is hierarchical or lateral, whether the parties are external or internal, and regardless of whether the variables are financial or non-monetary, the ability to influence another person is a relevant and invaluable skill. I like the definition of influence from Merriam Webster - the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen.

As you anticipate a person in the workplace with whom you might have to negotiate, consider what quality relationship you have with them. What degree of trust exists? Is there reciprocity? Are you in a developing, sustaining or repairing mode of the relationship? How valuable is the relationship to getting things accomplished in general, and in this particular matter?  Hint: It is more advantageous to your ability to influence someone during a critical negotiation when your relationship is well beyond the meager “rapport” stage. This is why investing in relationships is best as a proactive strategy.

In all honestly, some people have a more natural tendency to excel at or feel comfortable exhibiting their interpersonal savvy. Yet these are learned skills that can and should be developed, coached, and reinforced across a broad spectrum of roles.

What is to be learned from a relationship-based approach to negotiation?

  • Uncovering the wants & needs that lie beneath positions

  • Brainstorming potential solutions

  • The importance of preparation

  • Acknowledging other perspectives

  • Listening & questioning skills

  • Using leverage

  • Dealing with difficult tactics

  • Saying no

  • Trading value for value

From a management or leadership perspective, it’s a calculated risk to bestow autonomy to employees to negotiate on behalf of the team / company. In order to help ensure employees possess strong decision making quality they need a lot of context - goals, vision, insight, core values, purpose and direction. When leaders foster open communication, nurture self-improvement, set expectations around accountability, and provide skill development at effective negotiating, the outcomes will be far more successful.