Negotiation is a deliberative process between two or more actors that seek a solution to a common issue or who are bartering over an item of value.
Negotiation skills include the range of negotiation techniques negotiators employ to create value and claim value in their deal-making, business negotiations and beyond.
Negotiation skills can help you make deals, solve problems, manage conflicts, and build relationships as well as preserve relationships. These skills can be learned with conscious effort and should be practiced once learned.
The right skills allow you to maximize the value of your negotiated outcomes by effectively navigating the negotiation process from setup to commitment to implementation.
Individual negotiators are sometimes overwhelmed by the idea of leading organization-wide changes to negotiation practices. In fact, it doesn’t take much time or effort to set the wheels of reform in motion, write Hallam Movius and Lawrence Susskind in Built to Win.
Here are four simple steps to implement negotiation skills in your workplace:
1. Stress outcomes.
To get the attention of top managers, draw connections between better negotiation practices and specific, desired results, including short-term earnings or an increased chance of contract renewals. Once operational changes are made, carefully assess their impact and identify opportunities for further improvement.
2. Point out inconsistencies.
If your organization is investing in negotiation training, top leaders need to know if current operating procedures are preventing employees from using what they’ve learned. Make an effort to identify gaps between principles and practices.
3. Model best practices.
If negotiation training isn’t a near-term possibility in your organization, share what you know about preparation, value creation, and deal implementation with your colleagues. Your modeling of effective negotiation behavior should motivate them to follow suit.
4. Build a coalition.
Some of your colleagues are probably as frustrated as you are about internal obstacles to better negotiations. Unite with one or more employees to organize a more effective system. Before long, leaders will take notice.
Source: Program on Negotiation- Harvard Law School