Learn How to Negotiate

SIGN UP TODAY to receive a monthy career tips newsletter!

Why Employees Need Negotiating Skills

Many employees believe that their work lives are very dependent on the focus, personality, or even whims of their supervisors and managers. The art of negotiating seldom enters their mind while at the workplace. They often seem to forget that, except in the most dictatorial households, bowling teams, social situations, or shopping excursions, most people spend many waking hours negotiating items, from the trivial to the important.

Except in the most authoritarian companies, employees have the ability to negotiate many issues that apply to the workplace. While the phrase “employee empowerment” is often misused today, it really does exist in most modern corporations. Employees should take advantage of this ability and use effective negotiating skills to improve their comfort, performance, and achievements on the job.

Poor Negotiating Behaviors to Avoid

You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that there are a number of “negative skills” that hurt the negotiating process, but are still used by staff and management alike. These behaviors should be avoided in all situations. These successful negotiating barriers include the following:

• Creating a win-lose situation. Successful negotiation requires participants to forget the famous NFL football coach, Vince Lombardi’s, mantra: “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the ONLY thing.” The most serious barrier to successful negotiating is creating a winner, which must naturally also involve a loser.
• Refusal to understand another person’s position. Respect for the other person’s opinion or belief is critical to successful negotiating. Regardless of the depth of your disagreement with their position, they deserve the same respect you crave for expressing your opinion about an issue.
• Employing the “blame game.” Beginning a negotiation by blaming your counterpart for a problem or situation will usually result in an argument, not a successful negotiating result. Attributing blame for a situation is a discussion for another time – maybe never.
• Debating personalities instead of issues. Both a common and negative behavior, dwelling on personality traits of counterparts while ignoring the issues that are the true center of negotiation makes it almost impossible for the parties to solve a problem.

Effective Negotiation Style Tips

Learning and using effective negotiating techniques typically result in success for both parties in the workplace, regardless of their position on the corporate hierarchy. Some effective negotiating behaviors include the following:

• Proactively request other people’s point of view. Don’t wait for coworkers or supervisors to display their perspective, ask them to tell you. This accomplishes two goals: First, you become aware of their position without trying to assume what they are thinking – always a risky and unrewarding plan. Second, you display your respect and concern for their position, diffusing any possible confrontation right from the beginning.
• Clearly state your needs, wants, and point of view. Don’t wait for your negotiating partner to ask. Vocalize your position in a positive, neutral, or, at least, non-threatening manner. Your counterpart now knows your position clearly and can respond to what is real, not what is assumed.
• Unless a negotiating point or session is a total surprise, prepare some options in advance. If you’ve been in the workforce for a while, you inherently know that situations that may require negotiating are seldom surprises. For example, if you need some time off for personal reasons, prepare a few options to improve your chances of getting your supervisor’s approval. Like a sales situation, make it easy for the prospect to 'buy' your product.
• Avoid arguing while maintaining a position of the 'helpful assistant.' Do your best to refrain from allowing a negotiation to descend to an argument status. Moving from a negotiation to an argument also changes a potential win-win situation to an automatic win-lose conflict. Not only does this typically mean that the person with the most authority wins and you lose, but longer term resentments or anger may result.
• Always consider the factor of timing. Become familiar with the “professional personalities” of co-workers and supervisors. Does a co-worker have a volatile relationship with a spouse or significant other? Does your supervisor become stressed before weekly sales meetings, board meetings, or other regular periods? Avoiding negotiating during these negative periods is always a good idea. If possible, choose times when co-workers or supervisors are in a positive or, at least, stable place before a negotiating session.

Employees who become adept at negotiating with everyone in the workplace, regardless of title or job responsibility, find that their workday is more pleasant, their performance improves, and their career progress accelerates.

SIGN UP TODAY to receive a monthy career tips newsletter!