What Negotiation Style do you have?

Films and media like to show that there is only one negotiation style that matters, a competitive style, where you win and the other person loses! But if that was always the case, how do negotiations break down? What are the reasons for people breaking agreements?

The Cambridge English dictionary defines a negotiation as, “To have formal discussions with someone in order to reach an agreement.” And a long lasting agreement and commitment comes from cooperation.

Recent research by Professor G. Richard Shell from the prestigious Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, identified 5 common negotiation styles and how those styles interacted, but we’ll discuss that later. First let’s try to understand why it is important to know what mix of negotiation styles you have.

For most cultures of the world, the negotiation process can be divided into the following stages: preparation, information exchange, explicit bargaining, and commitment.

The greatest fear people have about negotiations is the fear of what they will lose. Other fears include a lack of alternatives, threats and time. These can all be greatly reduced from increasing your knowledge of the negotiation process and negotiation strategies.

Let's concentrate on the negotiation process: firstly preparation. How can you prepare an effective negotiation strategy if you don’t know how you will react under pressure, in different situations and conditions?

The answer is that you can’t unless you know your own negotiation style first.

Neither can you prepare effective responses to what the other person does in the negotiation without self-awareness.

If reaching an agreement in a negotiation is based on cooperation and cooperation is based on trust, then to be an effective negotiator you need to generate trust between yourself and the other person. Trust comes from being natural and being yourself, not from trying to be something you’re not, a fake. Once you’re aware of your negotiation style you know what can realistically be improved and what can’t. Trying to be competitive when you hate competition will make you appear fake and you’ll lose trust. Remember, you’re not that good an actor!

If you’re more aware of your own negotiation style, you become more aware of the other person’s negotiation style and also how different negotiation styles interact. Knowing what outcomes the interactions of different negotiations styles produces enables you to better choose the most effective negotiation strategy to reach an agreement with them.

Professor G. Richard Shell’s research identified 2 things.

Firstly, there are 5 negotiation styles and most people have a mix of these negotiation styles. What mix of negotiation styles are you?

1. Avoider: Hate conflicts and avoid them at all costs. Hence making an agreement with an Avoider very difficult.

2. Compromiser: Their priority is to maintain a productive relationship. So they will makea compromise first, giving the other person what they want in order to reach an agreement and preserve the relationship.

3. Accommodator: They like to resolve conflict by solving the other person’s problems. If the other person is also an accommodator then they return the favour and help solve their problems. If not, the other person takes and gives nothing in return.

4. Competitor: They like to win and be in control of the situation. They believe if they win, you lose.

5. Problem Solver: The most imaginative thinkers who think about fair “win/win” solutions and greater solutions that “make the pie bigger.”

Secondly, what outcomes (Good or Bad) these negotiation styles produced when two people (A and B) interacted together in a negotiation.

His research showed that people who have the same negotiation style quickly understood each other and produced a “Good” outcome. Contrary to popular opinion the “Competitor” produced more “Bad” outcomes than “Good” as most people thought they were difficult. A “Problem-Solver” negotiation style produced the best outcomes but is also the hardest to implement due to the complexity of most negotiations.

Finally if you don’t have a problem-solver negotiation style, don’t worry. Effective negotiating is as much about attitude as style. We can all learn, practice and adopt the habits of the most effective negotiators:

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14