4 Reasons Why You Should Always Be Negotiating
As a working parent, do you ever feel like your life is one long negotiation? In our house, negotiations span multiple capacities. My all-time favorite is the back-and-forth that occurs during dinner time as we discuss with our 3-foot-tall boss which items on the dinner plate he needs to finish in order to get his coveted dessert.
You might negotiate with your spouse about something if you are coming from two different viewpoints on a topic, eventually compromising on an outcome. Then comes the negotiating you do when your professional hat is on, addressing challenges in the workplace or other differences of opinion. Negotiating happens when the goal is to go from a status of disagreement to one of consensus.
Although it’s important to share your opinion when involved in a negotiation, this doesn’t mean being stubborn about it. Having an open mind is crucial if you want to be involved in a healthy negotiation and learn something in the process. For some, the art of negotiation might be a dreaded exercise because discussions can get uncomfortable, and you might not always get your exact way. However, compromise is beautiful, so leave your ego at the door as you reap the benefits.
1. Develop Stronger Relationships – If done correctly, when negotiating, you’re sharing your opinion in a less rigid, overtaking manner. When professionals begin negotiations, both parties go in knowing that, most likely, the outcome isn’t going to be exactly what they want. Still, they are willing to meet somewhere halfway-ish. This attitude helps build the relationship. While you might have it out over a topic or difference of opinion, when a person negotiates, they have to come to the table with a bit of openness. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a negotiation, it would be a lecture.
2. Avoid Conflict – Negotiating is one of the best conflict-management strategies. This all goes back to the openness and understanding that listening is just as important as presenting your opinion during a negotiation. Conflicts can quickly rear their ugly heads when one party doesn’t feel like the other is actually listening. Have you ever been in a situation when you knew someone wasn’t really listening to you but kept acting like they were? We’ve all been there, and it’s an instant turn-off to managing conflict. In a negotiation, a true sense of listening has to be on display for it to be successful. It shows others that you care and want to work with them on finding a solution.
3. Discover Solutions – When you sit in your own box of beliefs and opinions, you’ll never grow as a professional or even from a personal standpoint. Seeking to understand different views others have will allow you to come to a mutually beneficial solution. Businesses experience success, and in most cases, innovation, when employees feel like their voice is heard. Especially if what they express ends up as a staple for the business over the long run.
4. Build Credibility – We all tend to listen to credible people a little more intently. And with the focus on listening when it comes to negotiations, touting this character trait is crucial. Credibility breeds belief, and for another person to listen to your differing opinion, you need to build this with them. One way to do so is by showing how your view will value them. This is the WIIFT (What’s In It For Them) acronym we use a lot in business transactions.
Negotiations can get uncomfortable, but they are critical to business success. What other benefits do you find come as the result of a good negotiation? Share your thoughts by commenting below.