Negotiating for a Win-Win

FountainBlue’s August 20 Front Line Managers Online meeting on the topic of ‘Negotiating for a Win-Win’. My thanks also to our panelists for their participation. 

Our panelists have vast experiences and perspectives on how to successfully negotiate on behalf of yourself, your team, your loved ones. Below is a compilation of best practices.

• See negotiating as more of an opportunity to solve a problem than of a contentious, argumentative interaction with others.
• Work together all-in, as one to find and create solutions which serve the interests of all stakeholders.
• Embrace the opportunity to work with people not-like-you.
• Manage your emotions so that you have the energy to manage the communications and interactions.
• Progress a conversation, a relationship, a position to reach a desired end goal, which serves the needs of all parties.
• Prove value through the data. Use the data to continue to secure buy-in.
• Reframe negotiations as shared opportunities and challenges and have a conversation about what is needed, how important it is, how urgent it is, etc., so that relevant parties can make an informed decision.
• Refrain from the blaming, the should-ing, the self-centeredness which jeopardizes relationships and progress.

Pointers for negotiating when dealing with uncertainty:

• Embrace the unexpected.
• Be agile and gracious, proactive and positive. 
• Commit to the process.
• Persevere and find a way to get a win-for-all result.
• Find ways to work together and act as one team to overcome uncertainty together.
• Watch out not just for your own interest, but also for the interests of others.

Below are some steps to a negotiation process:

• Insist on respect for all parties, and listening to all participants.
• (Those who can’t follow rule #1 will not participate in the negotiation process.)
• Communicate leveraging data.
• Consider multiple options.
• If you do an ask, present also what you will give.

The bottom line is that aiming for a win-win result increases the likelihood you will get one!

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