TGIF Quotation Thanksgiving edition

There is little question that expressing thanks and gratitude at the right time is an important aspect of leadership and negotiation.  Here is a quote for you as you celebrate your holiday: 

 "At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.  Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."

Albert Schweitzer

Is negotiation just a tool for successful leaders?

In reviewing many of the blogs and posts on the connection between Leadership and Negotiation, I have been struck by the seemingly prevailing view that negotiation is a just a skill set that leaders must possess to be effective.  While I do believe there is a modicum of truth to that, I strongly feel that sentiment misses a much bigger point about negotiation.  While the skills involved in negotiation are fundamentally important to success they are only a necessary, not sufficient, condition for that success.

Consider this analogy.  If you learn the skills associated with negotiation that is akin to learning what the different pieces in the game of chess are and what moves you are capable of making with them. Does that, alone, make you a successful chess player?  Chess aficionado Bobby Fisher, not known for his patience or diplomacy, would scoff at that notion all together.

To be a successful negotiator then you must also think very strategically AND, perhaps most important of all, have a different kind of mindset.  The most effective negotiators I know view things differently. They see negotiations as problems to be solved or overcome through a well thought out strategy, a broad range of a skills, and an uncanny mindset that any problem created by people can be solved by them.

I can't help but think that those who just see negotiation as a skill to be used are missing all that negotiation has to offer.  What do you think?  

TGIF Quotation Day

All,

I will be starting a feature on the blog on Fridays called TGIF quotation day.  I will share a quotation related to Leadership and Negotiation here each Friday.  Love to hear your thoughts on them as they role out.  Here is the first, and a quotation that I appreciate more and more everyday.

  

Crossing the streams...

Egon: Don’t cross the streams.
Peter: Why?
Egon: It would be bad.
Peter: I’m fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean “bad”?
Egon: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Raymond: Total protonic reversal.
Peter: That’s bad. Okay. Alright, important safety tip, thanks Egon.

From the movie Ghostbusters

Unlike the quote from the movie Ghostbusters above, we DO want to cross the streams when it comes to Leadership and Negotiation.  In my first blog post I gave you my general perspective on the connection between Leadership and Negotiation.  Of course, there is much to explore here.  While these two realms have been living similar, parallel, existences for many years the two streams are clearly coming together.  And that is a good thing.  In the next few blog posts I want to examine what others have stated about this coming together and what we can learn from them.  

One such source is Steve Brown, who has written on the subject in an interesting fashion.  Brown's ideas on Leadership and Negotiation can be found here.  Below I have summarize they way he sees Leadership and Negotiation coming together and added my comments after each point:

1.  A sense of fairness.  Brown believes that the best leaders always treat people fairly and a leaders followers view an effective leader from that perspective.  That same sense of fairness is important in negotiation.  If people don't feel they have been treated fairly that dynamic alone is enough to ruin a negotiation process.  

My comment:  I would certainly agree with this perspective.  That stated, creating a sense of fairness is much easier said than done.  Part of the challenge is that fairness is not always in our control. People we deal with develop their perceptions quickly and sometimes inaccurately.  That often gets in the way of developing this sense of fairness.

2.  Look for mutual benefit.  Effective leaders look for solutions that meet the interests of all or as many people as possible.  There is no question that a similar approach is taken in effective negotiations.  

My comment:  This is true from my perspective as well.  If people do not know how things will benefit them they will not get on board.  It is not that people are inherently selfish, rather they just pursue what is in their best interest.  A mistake in negotiation that I see all the time is people not recognizing the other negotiator has interests and needs as well and they won't say yes unless those are met.

3.  Emotional detachment.  Brown argues that "Sometimes making a good decision means detaching the emotions so that you can weigh your options dispassionately and logically...  In negotiation you also need to avoid becoming overly attached to a plan or outcome."

My comment:  The important word in that explanation is sometimes.  Putting distance between yourself and your emotions so you can make the best decision possible is important.  However, that is very different than not having your emotions or suppressing them.  Emotions find their way into Leadership and Negotiation situations all the time since we are both logical and emotional beings. So, you can't keep emotions out of these processes, but you can have them with some control.  Or, they will have you in an uncontrollable manner.

4.  Have a higher purpose.  Effective leaders and negotiators communicate their ideas in a way that exhibits a higher purpose.  They don't get lost in the details and nitty gritty.

My comment:  I would tend to agree with this sentiment.  Leaders, in particular, need to make sure people understand the higher purpose involved in what they are doing.  Negotiators need to do this as well -- albeit in a slightly different way.  They need to avoid getting stuck in the details and losing sight of their overall goals and objectives.

5.  Take a long term view.  Leaders take a long term view for their company, organization, or country.  If they take too many short term decisions and don't consider the longer term they are sure to fail.  This is also the case in negotiation -- particularly with those who we want to work with for a long time.

My Comment:  Taking the long term view is critical.  I sense leaders understand this, but in today's "I want it now" world it is getting harder and harder for them to do that.  Kicking the can down the road has become a real and dangerous practice of many leaders.  From a negotiation perspective this concept is critical, but is often missed by negotiators who can be judged on short term metrics and goals.  Effective negotiators need to be able to have internal conversations about the importance of the long term and how to build their strategy in that manner.

Some very useful insights in here.  More to come in the future!          
         

A new blog with a focus on Leadership and Negotiation and its interconnectivity

Leadership.  Negotiation.  Both have been the subject of much study over the years.  And yet recently theorists and others have begun to increasingly think about the interconnected nature of these two domains.  That is the focus of this blog.  To exam this nexus, as well as the most recent research and discussions from these two interlinked fields of study.

With that in mind, last year I launched a Master's Degree program in Leadership and Negotiation at Bay Path University in Western Massachusetts.  This is the first such Master's Degree in the United States (and perhaps beyond) combining these two critical spheres.  In putting this degree together I had to think carefully about these realms and their interconnected nature. As such, I created the following document on the connection between Leadership and Negotiation http://graduate.baypath.edu/~/media/Files/PDF/Leadership%20Negotiation/The%20Interconnected%20Nature%20of%20Leadership%20%20Negotiation.ashx  It is a very preliminary perspective on the subject, but gives the reader a sense of how these realms fit together in a complimentary manner.  

Each week I will be posting my own thoughts on these subjects or commenting on new work that is coming out that is noteworthy.  I hope you enjoy!  And please share your feedback, comments, and questions.

Best,

Dr. Joshua N. Weiss
11/11/15