Leadership Negotiation Skills
Being a leader, you have to hone many hats. One of the significant roles you need to play is negotiating. A good leader has to be a good negotiator.
As William Ury, Roger Fisher and Bruce Patton have described in their book Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In say, “Like it or not, you are a negotiator. You negotiate for everything, every day.”
You must have a proper plan. Though you are prepared well, you should know the range in which you are negotiating a deal.
In a negotiation, positive outcomes depend on the attitude and negotiation skills of a leader. A good leader with polished negotiation skills will always break the deal in his/her favor. A good leader will always know how to set negotiatio goals as a manager?
The Members of the Harvard Negotiation Project have come up with tips that improve your negotiation skills. They write: These seven elements framework describes the essential tools needed to identify your goals and prepare yourself effectively for a successful negotiation.
Recommendation: Enhance your leadership negotiation skills using these tips
● You are a leader
So, just getting your part of the demands sufficed does not help. You need to think both ways. Be on a win-win side.
Remember, an enforced deal, though won, is of no benefit for you. Show your leadership skills here, and think of the other party as well. Make a deal that benefits both of you. You have many advantages with this. After your first deal, the other deals with the same party smoothen. They trust you. You increase your credibility, and negotiating becomes easy. You need to be a master at communicating well to always be on a win-win side. You should know the role of communication for a successful negotiation.
● Maintain a cordial relationship with your negotiating partner
Your relationship dynamics with your partner are important. These dynamics reflect your future conversations with them, your reputation, and your relationship with others.
For you to be a good negotiator, these traits are extremely important. These few important negotiation skills for workplaces are important for you to smoothly run your orgainzation. Your future negotiations, even with other counterparts, depend a lot on your network and reputation.
● Let them make an offer first
As Mario Puzo said in The Godfather Trilogy, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” But this does not work during real negotiations. Let them make an offer first. To conclude a negotiation in your favor first, let the counterpart make an offer first.
Wait for him/her to initiate. After completely listening to the other person, you put your points forward. Sometimes, the other party puts an offer to you which is better than your expectations. Interrupting them or making the offer first is sometimes not for you.
● Your rigidness can cost you this deal
So, be flexible in your communications. This does not mean you agree to whatever they say. To get a better deal, be a good communicator. Understand the person well and bring him/her to a comfort zone where communication smoothens.
With such understanding, negotiations it’s easier to mold the way you want. Also, being a leader, you have to maintain the ball in your court as well. Make compromises. But only when you know these compromises will not affect the deal badly and smoothen the conversation.
● Once the negotiation is complete, do not continue with the negotiation
However, continue to communicate. Accessing the reactions of your counterpart while cracking the deal is also very important. When you keep negotiating, they start judging you. You showcase your lack of confidence, which is harmful for future negotiations.
● Be true to your commitments
You should know that in a negotiation, responsibilities equal to verbal agreements. Stick to your words. The level of commitment varies. It also includes small commitments like time and place. Failing to fulfill even the slightest of these promises can cost you your credibility. So, stay committed. Fulfill each word of promise you make.
● Emotional intelligence is crucial for a good negotiation
Being a leader, you have to be very emotionally stable. Your emotional intelligence assessment tells you how stably you can carry out a negotiation. Getting emotional during a negotiation makes you vulnerable. When you balance your emotional intelligence, you have to take care of these things:
❖ Manage your relationships wisely
❖ Maintain social awareness
❖ Have self-realization
❖ Be self-regulated
As Jacquette. M. Timmons, a financial behaviorist says, “Develop a style of negotiation. This being, doing and expressing yourself is your style.”
Being a leader and a good negotiator, you should have your own style of negotiating. A style that defines your personality, attitude and grace.
For further reference, you can go through these articles listed below:
7 Leadership Negotiation skills to make the breakthrough
https://www.forwardfocusinc.com/inspire-leaders/7-leadership-negotiation-skills-to-make-the-breakthrough/
What is Negotiation? Learn the building blocks of indispensable negotiation business skills
https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/what-is-negotiation/
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