Advertisement
Why do we need to negotiate and with whom do we negotiate?
You might feel that negotiation is not something you need to do or do on a daily basis, but if we understand what the aim of any negotiation is, you normally realise that you negotiate many times in a day. If we say that negotiation is an attempt to solve a disagreement or misunderstanding and come to an agreement with the other party, then surely we negotiate every day.
The focus of any negotiation must be to create a value for both parties and to find the win/win solution where both parties can step away from the negotiation process feeling that they did not lose and are in agreement with the outcome.
To achieve an outcome that creates value for both parties, it is important that we properly plan the negotiation process and develop criteria that can guide us during the process to reach an acceptable agreement. Proper planning can of course only be done if we understand the process flow and the life cycle of negotiations, and how this will impact the process, as well as the strategy we will apply to ultimately result in the desired outcome.
Issues are what create the need for negotiation and these can be dynamic or static. Dynamic issues will lead us to understand the positions of the other party and why they act or feel the way they do. It is important to understand what you want to achieve, and should you have a strong position on the issue, you will most likely opt to go into competitive negotiations, whereas interests will set the scene for collaborative negotiations. In your planning process it is important to make this decision because it will impact your strategy, the team you will assemble, as well as the techniques you will apply during the negotiation.
Once the decision has been made – either to compete or to collaborate – and the team has been established, you will lead them and the other party through the four stages of negotiation, namely the rapport stage, the exploration stage, the movement stage and the closure stage. Good planning will allow the teams to know what needs to be achieved in each of these stages and what role each team member will play at what point during the negotiation process.
As an estate manager working and negotiating with your residents, the strategy will always be to collaborate and not to compete. When we push for a specific business requirement, the competitive approach might be the best option, but not when dealing with residents. Part of the planning process in negotiation with residents, where the focus is on value creation, is to understand who the key stakeholders are and what their positions and interests are. The focus must be on changing positions into interests and letting them understand the value in the outcome of the negotiation for them as individuals as well as for the estate or establishment.
Advertisement
Good collaborative negotiators know how to focus on the people across the table and not the technical or business result, and they need to know how to address the people issues – such as fears and concerns, perceptions, resistance to change – and have good communication skills. The way the message is developed or encoded to allow the receiver to decode and understand it is of crucial importance for successful negotiations. To use an example, when an upgrade to the clubhouse is required, the message needs to focus on the value this will create for the residents, rather than the technical aspects of the design and architecture.
Good collaborative negotiators will always focus on the people and the value creation and will seek an outcome where both parties are really satisfied with the outcome and buy into the agreement. To achieve this, you need to focus on the objective criteria that were established in the exploration stage, change the other parties’ positions to interests, and deliver the value proposition. Then negotiations can be a positive experience.
